GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 11-6 (9-2 GAC)	SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA BULLDOGS 8-9 (4-7 GAC)	NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA RANGERS 7-8 (3-8 GAC)
Thursday, January 26 | 7:30 p.m. Pioneer Cellular Event Center | Weatherford, Okla. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO Saturday, January 28 | 3 p.m. Perceful Fieldhouse | Alva, Okla. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO GAME NOTES

TIPPING OFF
Right at the halfway point of the conference slate of 22 games, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team is positioned near the top of the standings at 9-2 and are looking to start off their back half of the league schedule on a strong note.
 
Starting Thursday, there are 11 games left in the conference schedule, and the Wonder Boys will be getting their first look at a pair of league teams in Southwestern Oklahoma and Northwestern Oklahoma. Both games this week will be on the road as Tech will be at Southwestern Oklahoma on Thursday night and Northwestern Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon.
 
Last season, the Wonder Boys lost the two matchups against Southwestern Oklahoma and Northwestern Oklahoma.
 
In terms of all-time series histories, this will be the 37th meeting between Tech and Southwestern Oklahoma and the 20th meeting against Northwestern Oklahoma. Against Southwestern Oklahoma, Tech leads the series 23-13, but have dropped the last three. Against Northwestern Oklahoma, Tech leads the series 13-6, but have lost the last four meetings.
 

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Talking Tech
The Wonder Boys enter play this weekend with an 11-6 overall record and are tied for second place in the Great American Conference standings at 9-2. The Wonder Boys are also currently riding a three-game winning streak with wins over UAM on the road and Ouachita and Harding at home.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys are averaging 66.5 ppg and rank 11th 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 63.5 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 .435 (415-of-953) and limit their opponents to a .414 mark (378-of-914) to rank third.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .271 (92-of-340) to rank 12th in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .343 (124-of-361) to rank seventh. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .645 as a team (209-of-324) to rank 11th.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have two players averaging double figures in scoring. Taelon Peter leads the way at 13.9 ppg. Andre Leavell is next and rounds out double-figure scoring with an average of 10.2 ppg. Four other Wonder Boys are scoring at least 7.0 ppg as well.
 
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 105-77 record. Overall, Downey is in his 16th season as a head coach and has career record of 271-184.
 

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Scouting the Bulldogs
Southwestern Oklahoma enters this weekend's games with an 8-9 overall record and are 4-7 in GAC play. The Bulldogs are coming off a win in their most-recent game as they edged out Northwestern Oklahoma 74-71 this past Monday night. Prior to that, the Bulldogs had dropped their last two games.
 
Statistically for the year, the Bulldogs are averaging 75.2 ppg on offense to rank fourth in the GAC and are giving up an average of 76.8 ppg to rank 10th in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, SWOSU shoots at a .411 clip overall (441-of-1,072) to rank 12th in the league and allow opponents to shoot at a mark of .446 (443-of-994) to rank eighth.
 
From three-point range, the Bulldogs shoot at a .315 clip (139-of-441) to rank eighth in the GAC and allow opponents to shoot .344 (142-of-413) from range to rank eighth. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs shoot .611 (258-of-422) to rank 12th in the GAC.
 
Individually, the Bulldogs have three players scoring in double figures with Ben Smith leading the way at 14.0 ppg. After Smith is Kamden Gipson at 12.8 ppg. Rounding out double-figure scoring for SWOSU is Chris Braggs Jr. at 10.5 ppg.
 
The Bulldogs are coached by Terry Evans, who is in his fifth season as head coach at Southwestern Oklahoma. In his time at SWOSU, Evans has compiled a 47-75 record. Prior to coming to SWOSU, Evans spent three years as head coach at Edmond North High School as he took a brief reprieve from college coaching. That reprieve came after a 13-year run at the University of Central Oklahoma where he won 263 games in total. Overall, Evans' college coaching career has yielded 310 wins.
 

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Scouting the Rangers
Northwestern Oklahoma enters this weekend at 7-8 overall and are 3-8 in the GAC. Prior to playing Tech on Saturday, the Rangers will have played at home against Harding on Thursday night. Heading into their game with Harding, Northwestern Oklahoma is looking to get back into the win column after dropping a close game on the road against Southwestern Oklahoma earlier this week.
 
Statistically, the Rangers are averaging 75.9 ppg on offense to rank third in the GAC and are giving up an average of 77.1 ppg to rank 11th in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, NWOSU shoots at a .462 clip overall (410-of-887) to rank sixth in the league and allow opponents to shoot at a mark of .456 (395-of-867) to rank ninth.
 
From three-point range, the Rangers shoot at a .317 clip (108-of-341) to rank seventh in the GAC and allow opponents to shoot .370 (115-of-311) from range to rank 11th. At the charity stripe, the Rangers shoot .699 (211-of-302) to rank eighth in the GAC.
 
Individually, the Rangers have two players scoring in double figures and are led by Malik Parsons at 22.1 ppg. Parsons is currently the second-leading scorer in the GAC. Brian Free is next in scoring and rounds out double-figure scoring at 13.5 ppg.
 
The Rangers are coached by Robbie Harman, who is in his first season as head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma. Prior to coming to NWOSU, Harman spent five years as an assistant coach at Davenport University. He also has assistant coaching experience at Oklahoma City University, Central Michigan and Minnesota Crookston.