TIPPING OFF
With the semester over and finals in the rearview mirror, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team has one more non-conference test ahead of them before they dive headfirst into the remainder of their Great American Conference slate of games.
That final non-conference test comes against a historically familiar opponent in Hendrix College. Dating all the way back to the 1914-15 season, Tech and Hendrix met quite often on the hardwood as they were both past members of the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC). Overall, the Wonder Boys and Warriors have played 146 times with Tech holding a lead in the series record 80-66. Wednesday's game, however, will only be the second time since 1992 that two teams will have played one another.
Adding a little more intrigue to the game is the time in which it will tip-off. Usually playing in the early afternoon or evenings, this Wednesday's game with Hendrix will tip-off at 11 a.m. as part of the inaugural Kids Day Out Game at Tucker Coliseum.
More than 300 elementary age children from the Russellville School District are expected to be in attendance to see the Wonder Boys take on the Warriors.
TECH TIDBITS
The Wonder Boys enter play 4-4 overall and are 2-1 in the Great American Conference. The Wonder Boys are coming off of a big road win in overtime this past Saturday at Henderson State.
So far this year, the Wonder Boys are averaging 69.5 ppg and rank 10th in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys rank third in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 64.8 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are seventh in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .453 (224-of- 495) and are limiting their opponents to a .407 mark (185-of- 455) to rank second.
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys are shoot at a clip of .315 (46-of-146) to rank 10th in the GAC while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .357 (60-of-168) to rank 10th. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys are shooting .674 as a team (62-of-92) to rank ninth.
Individually, the Wonder Boys have two players averaging double figures in scoring. Czar Perry leads the way at 16.0 ppg and is followed by Tony Hall at 10.5 ppg. The Wonder Boys are also pretty balanced in their scoring with four other players averaging at least 7.0 ppg.
The Wonder Boys are coached by Mark Downey, who is in his second season back on the sidelines at Tech after a 10-year hiatus. In his first stint, Downey patrolled the sidelines at Tech for four seasons from 2006-07 - 2009-10. In his final season, Downey guided the Wonder Boys to a program-record 30 wins and during the course of that season, the Wonder Boys were ranked No. 1 in NCAA DII for the first time ever.
In his time at Tech, which is now in its sixth season overall, Downey has amassed an 88-58 record. Overall, Downey is in his 15th season as a head coach and has career record of 254-164.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Hendrix enters Wednesday's game against Arkansas Tech at 6-3 overall and will be playing the contest as an exhibition on their schedule. The Warriors will also enter the game on a two-game losing streak and have not played since December 4. Their two losses during that recent stretch came against NCAA DIII nationally-ranked No. 20 Washington (Mo.) and to Hope (Mich.) as part of the Loata Classic in St. Louis, Mo.
Statistically this season, the Warriors average 75.6 ppg on offense to rank fourth in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) and give up an average of 71.3 ppg to also rank fourth in the SAA. In terms of field goal percentages, Hendrix shoots at a .431 clip overall (238-of-552) to rank sixth and is allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .395 (233-of-590) to rank second.
From three-point range, the Warriors shoot at a .301 clip (56-of-186) to rank seventh in the SAA and are allowing their opponents to shoot .265 (54-of-204) from range to rank first. At the charity stripe, the Warriors shoot .682 (148-of-217) to rank sixth in the SAA.
Individually, the Warriors have one player scoring in double figures and are led by Seth Stanley at 19.4 ppg. Despite having only one player in double figures, the Warriors have balanced scoring with six other players averaging at least 6.0 ppg.
The Warriors are coached by Thad McCracken, who is in his 11th season at Hendrix. In his time as a head coach at Hendrix, McCracken has amassed a 96-158 record.
