GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 0-0 (0-0 GAC)	EMPORIA STATE HORNETS 0-0 (0-0 MIAA)	FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS 0-0 (0-0 MIAA)
Friday, November 11 | 7 p.m. Pioneer Cellular Event Center | Weatherford, Okla. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO Saturday, November 12 | 5:30 p.m. Pioneer Cellular Event Center | Weatherford, Okla. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

TIPPING OFF
For the second-straight year and third time in the last four (COVID negating the 2020-21 season), the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team will open their regular season against the combination of Emporia State and Fort Hays State as part of the GAC/MIAA Challenge.
 
This year, the regional crossover event will take place at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on the campus of Southwestern Oklahoma in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
 
Last year, the event was played at Fort Hays State and Tech went 1-1 with a win against Emporia State and a loss to Fort Hays.
 
Embarking on the third season of the second stint under head coach Mark Downey, the Wonder Boys will be looking to turn the page in the rebuilding of their program but face tough tests all weekend. Last year, both Emporia and Fort Hays had bounce back seasons with each reaching the 20-win mark and finishing in the top half of the stacked MIAA.
 
The schedule for this weekend will see the Wonder Boys first play Emporia State on Friday night at 7 p.m. The following day, on Saturday, Tech will take on Fort Hays State starting at 5:30 p.m.
 

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Tech Tidbits
The Wonder Boys finished last season with a 10-18 record overall and 7-15 in the Great American Conference, narrowly missing out on the GAC Tournament.
 
Last year, the Wonder Boys averaged 70.2 ppg and rank seventh in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys ranked seventh in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 70.7 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys were fifth in the conference as they shot at an overall clip of .452 (747-of-1,651) and limited their opponents to a .436 mark (698-of-1,602) to rank sixth.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shot at a clip of .367 (223-of-608) to rank second in the GAC while their opponents made three-pointers at a mark of .358 (222-of-620) to rank 11th. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shot .681 as a team (248-of-364) to rank 10th.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys had three players average double figures in scoring. Now former Wonder Boy Tony Hall led the way at 13.7 ppg. The top-returning scorer for the Wonder Boys is Taelon Peter. He averaged an even 10.0 ppg last year and was the third-leading scorer.
 
The Wonder Boys are coached by Mark Downey, who is in his third 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 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 seventh season overall, Downey has amassed an 94-72 record. Overall, Downey is in his 16th season as a head coach and has career record of 260-178.
 

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Scouting The Hornets
Emporia State ended their 2021-22 season 20-9 overall and 15-7 in the MIAA to finish fifth. The Hornets would make a quick exit in the MIAA Tournament losing to the No. 4-seed Washburn in the first round.
 
Statistically last season, the Hornets averaged 79.2 ppg on offense to rank second in the MIAA and gave up an average of 69.8 ppg to rank fifth in the MIAA. In terms of field goal percentages, Emporia State shot at a .463 clip overall (788-of-1702) to rank fifth and allowed opponents to shot at a mark of .444 (746-of-1,682) to rank seventh.
 
From three-point range, the Hornets shot at a .341 clip (269-of-788) to rank ninth in the MIAA and allowed opponents to shoot .346 (204-of-589) from range to rank seventh. At the charity stripe, the Hornets shot .790 (452-of-572) to rank third in the MIAA.
 
Individually, the Hornets had two players score in double figures in 2020-21 and were led by now former Hornet, Tray Buchanan at 25.6 ppg. Juamah'Ri Turner, another now former Hornet was the other double-digit scorer at 19.8 ppg. The leading returning scorer for Emporia is Mayoum Buom. Last season, he played and started in all 29 games and averaged 8.5 ppg on 60% shooting (99-of-164).
 
The Hornets are coached by Craig Doty, who is in his fifth season at Emporia State. In his time as a head coach at Emporia, Doty has amassed a 55-55 record. Prior to his time at Emporia, Doty spent two seasons as head coach at Graceland University where, in his final season, Doty led his team to a NAIA D-I National Championship. The four years prior to that, Doty guided Rock Valley College to a 113-28 overall record that included a pair of NJCAA D-III National Championships. Overall, Doty has a 197-96 record as a head coach.
 

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Scouting The Tigers
Fort Hays State ended their 2021-22 season 23-6 overall and a 17-5 mark in the MIAA to finish third. Fort Hays would win their opening quarterfinal matchup against Missouri Southern in the MIAA tournament but lost in the semifinals to top-seeded Northwest Missouri.
 
Statistically last season, the Tigers averaged 67.5 ppg on offense to rank 11th in the MIAA and gave up an average of 56.6 ppg to rank first in the MIAA. In terms of field goal percentages, Fort Hays State shot at a .445 clip overall (688-of-1,545) to rank ninth and allowed opponents to shot at a mark of .398 (582-of-1,463) to rank first.
 
From three-point range, the Tigers shot at a .353 clip (224-of-634) to rank sixth in the MIAA and allowed opponents to shoot .285 (165-of-579) from range to rank first. At the charity stripe, the Tigers shot .731 (358-of-490) to rank ninth in the MIAA.
 
Individually, the Tigers had three players score in double figures in 2020-21 and were led by Jared Vitztum at 15.9 ppg. The two others in double figures were Kaleb Hammeke and Nyjee Wright at 14.1 and 11.7 ppg, respectively. The leading returning scorer is Kaleb Hammeke.
 
The Tigers are coached by Mark Johnson, who is in his 22nd season at Fort Hays State. In his time as a head coach at Fort Hays, Johnson has amassed a 407-203 record and had advanced the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament seven times.