GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 7-5 (5-1 GAC)	(RV/T25) SOUTHERN NAZARENE CRIMSON STORM 10-2 (6-0 GAC)	OKLAHOMA BAPTIST BISON 7-5 (4-2 GAC)
Thursday, January 12 | 7:30 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO Saturday, January 14 | 3 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO GAME NOTES TECH | SNU | OKB

Tipping Off
A very successful road trip to Oklahoma last week after what was a 19-day layoff from game action has the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team returning home this week riding high with an opportunity to continue to climb upwards.
 
Awaiting the Wonder Boys at home this week are a pair of premier games against two of the top teams currently in the GAC standings as Tech is set to play host to Southern Nazarene on Thursday night and Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday afternoon.
 
SNU is the lone unbeaten team in the GAC left and sits alone atop the conference standings. The Crimson Storm are both receiving votes in the coaches national poll and are now tied for 25^th in the D2SIDA national poll. The Wonder Boys, at 5-1 in the GAC, have a chance to pull into a tie for first place ahead of their game against Oklahoma Baptist, who comes into the weekend at 4-2 in the GAC.
 
Both games also have some cool promotions attached to them as Thursday night is Youth Sports Jersey Night where any kid wearing a youth sports jersey of any kind gets into the game for FREE with at least one paying adult. On Saturday, ATU Athletics is having a Banker Appreciation Day where employees of any of local banks and their local branches will receive free admission.
 
Last season, the Wonder Boys lost both matchups with Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist. Despite the pair of defeats to both teams, Tech was right in all four games, losing by a combined 10 points to Southern Nazarene and 13 points to Oklahoma Baptist.
 
In terms of all-time series histories, this will be the 21st meeting between Tech and Southern Nazarene and the 15th meeting against Oklahoma Baptist. Against Southern Nazarene, Tech trails the series 12-8 lead in the series. Against Oklahoma Baptist, Tech trails the series 10-4.
 

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Tech Tidbits
The Wonder Boys enter play this weekend with a 7-5 overall record and are off to a 5-1 start in Great American Conference play. The start in conference play is their best six-game start in GAC play all-time, and the best overall six-game start in conference action since 2010-11.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys are averaging 67.0 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 64.4 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 .430 (294-of-684) and limit their opponents to a .401 mark (266-of-664) to rank second.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .258 (63-of-244) to rank 12th in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .340 (89-of-262) to rank seventh. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .632 as a team (153-of-242) to rank 11th.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have three players averaging double figures in scoring. Taelon Peter leads the way at 14.9 ppg. Wes Harris is next with an average of 11.2 ppg. Andre Leavell rounds out double-figure scoring with an average right at 10.0 ppg. Two other Wonder Boys average at least 9.0 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 a 101-76 record. Overall, Downey is in his 16th season as a head coach and has career record of 267-183.
 

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Scouting the Crimson Storm
Southern Nazarene enters this weekend with a 10-2 overall record and are an unblemished 6-0 in GAC play. The Crimson Storm are the hottest team in the GAC at the moment and one of the hotter teams in all of the country as they are currently on an eight-game winning streak. Their last defeat came on the road at Dallas Baptist back on November 23 as they lost 74-71.
 
That same three-point margin of defeat accounts for the Crimson Storm's only other loss as they were upended by Sioux Falls at a neutral site back in mid-November by a score of 75-72.
 
Statistically for the year, the Crimson Storm are averaging 72.2 ppg on offense to rank eighth in the GAC but are giving up an average of 59.8 ppg to rank first in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, SNU shoots at a .474 clip overall (291-of-614) to rank fourth in the league and allow opponents to shoot at a mark of .420 (258-of-615) to rank fourth.
 
From three-point range, the Crimson Storm shoot at a .417 clip (105-of-252) to rank second in the GAC and allow opponents to shoot .345 (78-of-266) from range to rank eighth. At the charity stripe, the Crimson Storm shoot .782 (179-of-229) to rank second in the GAC.
 
Individually, the Savage Storm have four players scoring in double figures and are led by Tyler McGhie at 15.9 ppg. Javon Jackson is next in scoring at 14.5 ppg followed by Adokiye Iyaye at 13.5 ppg. Nick Davis rounds out double-figure scoring at 11.3 ppg.
 
The Crimson Storm are coached by Adam Bohac, who is in his 15th season as head coach at Southern Nazarene. In his 14 previous seasons as head coach, Bohac has led the Crimson Storm to eight seasons of 20 or more wins with a high-watermark coming in 2018-19 when SNU won 29 games.
 
The coach of the Crimson Storm when they were in the NAIA, Bohac has successfully transitioned the team into a perennial power at the DII level. After two years just under .500 as members of DII, Bohac has since led SNU to six-straight winning seasons with at least 20 wins in four of those seasons.
 
Having guided the Crimson Storm to three GAC Regular Season titles, two GAC Tournament Championships and three trips to the NCAA Central Region Tournament, Bohac has a career record of 295-143.
 

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Scouting the Bison
Oklahoma Baptist enters this weekend at 7-5 overall and are 4-2 in the GAC. Prior to playing Tech on Saturday, the Bison will have played on the road at Harding on Thursday night. Heading into their game with Harding, Oklahoma Baptist is looking to secure a modest two-game winning streak as they coming off a win their last time out against Ouachita, 79-55.
 
Statistically, the Bison are averaging 74.2 ppg on offense to rank seventh in the GAC and are giving up an average of 68.8 ppg to rank sixth in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, Oklahoma Baptist shoots at a .471 clip overall (327-of-685) to rank second in the league and allow opponents to shoot at a mark of .427 (296-of-694) to rank fifth.
 
From three-point range, the Bison shoot at a .329 clip (80-of-243) to rank sixth in the GAC and allow opponents to shoot .307 (82-of-267) from range to rank second. At the charity stripe, the Tigers shoot .690 (156-of-226) to rank eighth in the GAC.
 
Individually, the Bison have four players scoring in double figures and are led by Paul King at 15.9 ppg. Trey Doomes is next in scoring at 12.9 ppg followed by D.J. Freeman at 11.6 ppg. Nigel Wilcox rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.3 ppg.
 
The Bison are coached by Jason Eaker, who is in his fifth season as head coach at Oklahoma Baptist. In his time as head coach at Oklahoma Baptist, Eaker has had four-straight winning seasons and twice won at least 20 games. He has also guided the Bison to a pair of NCAA Central Region Tournament appearances.
 
A long-time assistant coach at the Division I level, Eaker's lone head coaching experience is at Oklahoma Baptist. Overall, he has an 81-43 career record as a head coach.