GAME DAY INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 6-7 (4-7 GAC)	HENDERSON STATE REDDIES 6-7 (6-7 GAC)
Saturday, February 20 | 4 p.m. Arkadelphia, Ark. | Duke Wells Center LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LISTEN LIVE | ATU NOTES (PDF) | HSU NOTES

TIPPING OFF
In what has been a trying and difficult season to navigate due mostly to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team saw its sixth scheduled game of the season canceled this past Thursday. This time, however, it was not due to anything COVID-related. Rather Mother Nature was the cause of the cancellation between the Wonder Boys and Eastern Division leaders, Arkansas-Monticello as record snow and winter weather consumed the Natural State beginning this past Monday. 

That cancellation has led to the Wonder Boys facing a condensed sprint to end of the regular season as they have their final four scheduled games slated to be played over an eight-day period beginning this Saturday at Henderson State. 

It will be the unprecedented fourth time that the two teams will meet in a regular season. The Reddies, who have won the three previously-played games, will also be the only GAC Eastern Division opponent that the Wonder Boys will face all four scheduled times as they are the only team to not have a game with the Wonder Boys canceled for any reason. 

The Wonder Boys will not only be looking to snap their season-series skid with the Reddies, but also are looking to end a two-game slide as they lost on the road at Ouachita last Friday and at home in a quick turnaround to Southern Arkansas on Saturday.

TECH TIDBITS 

The Wonder Boys enter play on Saturday with a 6-7 record and a 4-7 mark in the GAC. As a team, the Wonder Boys are averaging 70.3 ppg and rank ninth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys rank seventh in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 71.9 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are fifth in the conference as they are shooting at an overall clip of .440 (325-of-739) and are limiting opponents to a .425 mark (318-of-749) to rank fifth. From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .371 (122-of-329) to rank third in the GAC while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .340 (108-of-318) to rank sixth. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys are shooting .648 as a team (142-of-219) to rank 11th. 

Individually, the Wonder Boys have three players averaging double figures in scoring. True freshman Cejay Mann leads the way at 11.9 ppg Senior Tony Hall is next at 11.6 ppg and classmate Ke'Lyn Adams rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.2 ppg. 

The Wonder Boys are coached by Mark Downey, who is in his first season back on the sidelines at Tech after a 10-year hiatus. Previously, Downey patrolled the sidelines at Tech for four seasons. 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 fifth season, Downey has amassed an 83-50 record. Overall, Downey is in his 14th season as a head coach and has career record of 249-156. 

SCOUTING THE REDDIES 

Henderson State enters their game against the Wonder Boys 6-7 overall and 6-7 in the GAC. The Reddies will be coming off an impressive 71-46 road win at Harding this past Saturday. 

In that game, the Reddies overcame a slow start offensively and hit their stride late in the first half as they closed the final 6:50 of the opening period on a 12-2 run. The momentum carried over for the Reddies in the second half as they continued to be hot on the offensive end, eventually out-scoring the Bisons 44-28. While the offense shored up and became a bright spot, the Reddies' defense was top-notch the whole game and forced Harding to commit 25 turnovers in the game, 17 of which came in the first half. 

Statistically, the Reddies are averaging 72.0 ppg on offense to rank seventh in the GAC and are giving up an average of 69.1 ppg to rank fifth in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, Henderson State is shooting at a .439 clip overall (328-of-748) to rank sixth and are allowing opponents to shot at a mark of .409 (306-of-748) to rank first. From three-point range, the Reddies shoot at a .329 clip (78-of-237) to rank ninth in the GAC and are allowing opponents to shoot .358 (112-of-313) from range to rank ninth. At the charity stripe, the Reddies shoot .729 (202-of-277) to rank third in the GAC. 

Individually, the Reddies have three players scoring in double figures and are led by Malik Riddle at 13.3 ppg. Raekwon Rogers is next in scoring at 13.1 ppg. Jeremiah Toney rounds out double figure scoring at 10.3 ppg. 

The Reddies are coached by Jimmy Elgas, who is in his sixth season at HSU. In his time as a head coach at Henderson, Elgas has amassed an 87-72 record. Last season, Elgas led the Reddies to the GAC Tournament Championship giving the program their first championship of any kind since 2007-08.