RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Needing three straight victories at last weekend's Great American Conference Championship to ensure its season continued, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team did just that, ripping off three straight close wins to move to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament for the seventh consecutive season.

In the process, the Wonder Boys (18-13) ran their winning streak to six straight games and nine of their last 10 to reach the national postseason for the 20th time in program history. The first 13 came in NAIA play, in addition to the seven straight trips to the NCAA regional. Tech picked up a win in each of its first three region showings, all in the South Region, before making a trip to the South Central Regional title game in the 2011-12 season. Overall, the Wonder Boys are 5-6 in NCAA play, and will look to improve that record against the top seed in the Central Region, No. 2 Augustana, in Saturday's 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal tipoff from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Tech is one of the most free-shooting teams in the country from beyond the arc, putting up 9.1 3-pointers per game, which is the 34th-most in the nation. The Wonder Boys also convert at an impressive rate, hitting 37.1 percent of their shots from deep, and hold opponents to just a 32.7 percent clip, ranked 37th in the country. For the season, they're averaging 72.4 points per game, while allowing 72.0, but during their current six-game winning streak, the Wonder Boys are putting up 82.8 points and besting opponents by nearly six points on average.

Shooting from deep carries over to the individual ranks for Tech as well, as seniors Mike Balogun and Tyler Friedel both rank in the top 50 in the country in total 3-point attempts. Balogun also comes in at 16th in total makes, with 92, and Friedel 45th with 79 treys. Balogun leads the Wonder Boys in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game, while D.J. Jethroe is also in double figures at 10.5 per game while adding a team-high 5.5 rebounds. Clarence Willard, who has a triple-double and two buzzer-beating game winners to his credit during the last six games, puts up 9.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists, and Friedel adds 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds.

A number of Wonder Boys had big moments at the GAC tournament, perhaps none bigger than the performance of Balogun, who increased his scoring output each night and wound up averaging 23.3 points and 4.3 rebounds over the three-game stretch on 49.0 percent shooting from the floor and 51.9 percent from deep. Jay Murphy increased his season scoring average nearly two points by putting up 19.0 points per game on 66.7-percent shooting — 70 percent from 3-point range — and hit 22-of-26 from the line to keep late leads in each of the three games.

The Vikings (30-2) are making their 12th overall NCAA appearance, and sixth in the past eight years, while the meeting against the Wonder Boys will be the first in the two programs' histories. Fresh off its first postseason tournament championship by winning the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title last week, Augustana has the stats to back up a No. 2 national ranking, including eighth in the country averaging 87.1 points per game, and sixth in scoring margin, besting opponents by an average of 16.3 points. The Vikings are also 13th in field goal percentage at 49.9 percent, and eighth in 3-point percentage with a 41.4 percent mark.

Daniel Jansen and Casey Schilling are both in the top 54 nationally in scoring, averaging 19.7 and 18.8 points per game, respectively, while Schilling pulls in 8.3 rebounds, good enough for 50th. Jordan Spencer is 11th in the country, averaging 6.3 assists, and is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio. He puts up 11.5 points per game, and with Alex Richter's 15.1 points per game, the Vikings push four into double-figure averages.

The winner between the Wonder Boys and Vikings will move on to face the winner of Northwest Missouri State and Minnesota State, both of which are receiving votes in the coaches poll. On the other side of the bracket are second seed and defending national champion No. 20 Central Missouri and third seeded No. 4 Minnesota State-Moorhead. UCM faces sixth seed Northern State, while MSU-Moorhead takes on seventh seed Pittsburg State. The region semifinals take place Sunday evening, with the championship scheduled for Tuesday night.

All Arkansas Tech games will be broadcast live on 100.9 (KWKK) in Russellville, with live video, audio and statistics available at www.arkansastechsports.com. For more information on the tournament, visit www.goaugie.com.