GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 1-4 (0-0 GAC)	OZARKS EAGLES 5-1 (0-0 ASC)
Monday, November 28 | 11 a.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO

TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team is set to play their final non-conference game of the season and welcome in nearby University of the Ozarks for some basketball brunch as the game is scheduled to tip-off at 11 a.m. on Monday morning.
 
The special morning tip-off will allow close to 1,000 elementary school kids from the River Valley take a field trip to Tucker Coliseum and watch some Wonder Boys basketball.
 
It will also be the second time in as many years that the Wonder Boys have hosted a "Kid's Day Out Game" as they did so against nearby Hendrix College. That game was a thrilling 58-51 win for Tech in front of over 300 elementary kids from Crawford, Center Valley and Dwight Elementary Schools.
 
This year, the elementary schools from Dardanelle, Dover and Pottsville are expected to be in attendance, pushing the expected total to near 1,000.
 
This will be the 145th meeting all-time between Tech and Ozarks. In a series that dates back over a century, Tech holds a commanding 109-35 lead in the series. Former members of the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference from its inception through the 1994-95 season, Tech and Ozarks played at least twice a year from 1945-1995.
 
After Tech joined NCAA Division II and Ozarks went to NCAA Division III following the end of the AIC, the series took a hiatus before starting back in 2001. Since then, the two teams have only played six times. The last game between the two was an overtime game won by Tech to open the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
 

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Tech Tidbits
The Wonder Boys enter play with a 1-4 start and are coming off a 68-61 road win against Drury in their most-recent action.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys are averaging 61.6 ppg and rank 12th in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys rank second in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 66.4 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are 11th in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .411 (118-of-287) and limited their opponents to a .421 mark (110-of-261) to rank seventh.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .233 (20-of-86) to rank 12th in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .382 (39-of-102) to rank ninth. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .667 as a team (52-of-77) to rank 10^th.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have two players averaging double figures in scoring. Newcomer Wes Harris leads the way at 13.4 ppg each. Sophomore returner Taelon Peter is next in double-figure scoring with a 12.0 ppg average. Three other Wonder Boys average at least 8.0 ppg.
 
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 95-76 record. Overall, Downey is in his 16th season as a head coach and has career record of 261-182.
 

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Scouting the Eagles
The University of the Ozarks is off to a 5-1 start to their season. Their lone regular season loss was by just three points to Centenary back on November 20. A NCAA Division III member, Ozarks has also played one exhibition game against a NCAA Division II opponent like Tech. In that game, Ozarks lost on the road to Arkansas-Fort Smith by a score of 68-51.
 
Statistically, the Eagles are averaging 77.8 ppg on offense to rank eighth in the American Southwestern Conference (ASC) and are giving up an average of 63.5 ppg to rank first in the ASC. In terms of field goal percentages, Ozarks shoots at a .483 clip overall (170-of-352) to rank third in their league and allow opponents to shoot at a mark of .367 (141-of-384) to rank first.
 
From three-point range, the Eagles shoot at a .383 clip (59-of-154) to rank fourth in the ASC and allow opponents to shoot .206 (27-of-131) from range to rank first. At the charity stripe, the Eagles shoot .708 (68-of-96) to rank third in the ASC.
 
Individually, the Eagles have five players scoring in double figures and are led by Grayson Nix at 16.2 ppg. Tylan Jackson is next in scoring at 13.2 ppg followed by Josh Ukpe at 12.7 ppg. The two others in double figures are Tim Eldridge and Kamren Roelke at 10.3 ppg, respectively.
 
The Eagles are coached by Matt Bolton, who is in his first season as head coach at Ozarks. Last year, Bolton was on staff at Ozarks serving as an assistant coach where he helped coach two of the ASC's Top-15 scorers. A native of Cato, N.Y., Bolton also spent a season as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Cazenovia College.