RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team will return to action this Saturday, Dec. 31, hosting Missouri S&T in a New Years' Eve Matinee. 

Tip-off from Tucker Coliseum is set for 1 p.m. 

FOLLOW THE GAME
Saturday's game will be carried live on 102.3-FM (KCJC) in Russellville, with live audio, video, and statistics available at www.arkansastechsports.com.

SCOUTING THE MINERS
Missouri S&T enters Saturday's game with a record of 7-2, with a 1-2 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play. Saturday's game will be only the second true road game for MST - the Miners dropped a 92-72 decision to Drury on Dec. 10 - of the 2016-17 season. MST is 2-0 in neutral site contests, knocking off Missouri Southern and Emporia State at the Elliott Lodging/Drury Thanksgiving Classic. While the Miners played an exibition against SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday, Saturday's game will be the first regular-season contest for the Miners since that loss to Drury. The Miners are a prolific offensive squad, scoring 91.1 points per game. They have been led offensively by junior guard Jalen Myers, whose 16.8 points per game has been boosted by some sharpshooting from beyond the arc; as Myers has connected on nearly 46 percent of his 3-point attempts. Telloy Simon has been an effective sixth man, averaging 12.6 points off the bench, while senior forward Rokas Paulauskas has scored 11.4 points and grabbed 8.3 rebounds per contest. 

SCOUTING THE WONDER BOYS
Arkansas Tech enters Saturday's game with a 5-2 record, including a perfect 4-0 mark in games played at home. Since dropping a pair of games on the road to open December, the Wonder Boys came back with wins over WIlliam Woods (78-74) and Missouri Southern (103-92) to close the pre-holiday portion of the schedule. One factor that has worked in the Wonder Boys' favor this year has been an incredible ability to take care of the ball. Freddy Lee leads the nation with a 7-to-1 assist to turnover ratio (28 assists, four turnovers) while as a team the Wonder Boys have committed the second-fewest turnovers in all of Division II (82, trailing Glenville State by one). Tech has played exceptionally disciplined basketball, committing only 120 fouls thus far this season - the third-lowest total in Division II, and has been accurate from beyond the arc, hitting 12.6 3-pointers per game, ranking second in Division II.  Four players average double-figure points for Arkansas Tech, led by Montrell Williams' 13.4 points per game. Alex Brown (12.7 ppg), Bennie Lufile (12.3 ppg), and Grant Prusator (10.7 ppg) follow closely behind, while Justin Graham (9.7 ppg), Branden Williams (9.0 ppg) and Trevin Woods (8.9 ppg) are close behind. Lufile leads the Wonder Boys' rebounding effort with 8.9 boards per game, while Williams is close behind with 7.2.

THE UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday's game opens a four-game homestand for the Wonder Boys, as Tech returns to the Tucker Coliseum court on Thursday, Jan. 5 to resume conference play against Southeastern Oklahoma. East Central (1/7) and Ouachita Baptist (1/12) will visit before the Wonder Boys hit the road again for five of the next six games.