GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 0-2 (0-0 GAC)	DRURY PANTHERS 3-0 (0-0 GLVC)
Thursday, November 16 | 7:30 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO

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TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team is ready to play in front of a home crowd at Tucker Coliseum for the first time this year as they will host Drury in a non-conference game on Thursday night.
 
Thursday's game is the return of a home-and-home agreement between the two teams that saw the Wonder Boys play at Drury last season. The Wonder Boys would emerge victorious in the game, beating the Panthers, 68-61, in what was the first-ever meeting between the two.
 
Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and it will be the back half of a basketball doubleheader in Tucker as the Golden Suns will play earlier in the evening against Pittsburg State.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys are off to an 0-2 start to their season after dropping both of their games opening weekend as part of the GAC/MIAA crossover challenge. Playing a pair of top-tier MIAA teams, the Wonder Boys lost to No. 20-ranked Emporia State, 86-76 on their home court and then fell to (rv) Fort Hays State, 66-52.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys average 64.0 ppg and rank seventh in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys also rank seventh in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 76.0 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are eighth in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .395 (45-of-114) and limit their opponents to a .479 mark (46-of-96) to rank seventh.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .325 (13-of-40) to rank seventh in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .366 (15-of-41) to rank ninth. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .610 as a team (25-of-41) to rank 10th.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have four players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Josh Mitchell and his 13.5 ppg. Seybian Sims is next in scoring at 12.0 pgg while Cassius Brooks and Taelon Peter round out double-figure scoring at 11.5 ppg each.
 
Mitchell is also the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Brooks leads the team and is averaging 3.5 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Wonder Boys are led in steals by Peter at 3.5 steals per game and in blocks by Mitchell at 2.0 blocks per game.
 
The Wonder Boys are coached by Mark Downey, who is in his fourth 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 eighth season overall, Downey has amassed a 110-89 record. Overall, Downey is in his 17th season as a head coach and has career record of 276-195.
 

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SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Drury is off to a 3-0 start to their season after winning both games on opening weekend against Thomas More and Trevecca Nazarene at the Southwest Baptist Tipoff Classic. Most-recently, the Panthers picked up their first win at home on Tuesday night as they cruised past Ozark Christian by a score of 106-58.
 
Statistically, the Panthers average 90.3 ppg and rank first in the GLVC. On the defensive end of the court, the Panthers rank eighth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 71.7 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Panthers are first in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .580 (101-of-174) and limit their opponents to a .456 mark (82-of-180) to rank 12th.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Panthers shoot at a clip of .448 (26-of-58) to rank third in the GLVC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .328 (19-of-58) to rank sixth. From the free throw line, the Panthers shoot .694 as a team (43-of-62) to rank eighth.
 
Individually, the Panthers have four players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Juok Riak and his 15.0 ppg. Adam Moore is next in scoring at 12.0 pgg while Logan Applegate and Brock Wakefield round out double-figure scoring at 10.7 ppg and 10.3 ppg, respectively.
 
Applegate is also the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Wakefield leads the team and is averaging 3.3 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Panthers are led in steals by Ethan Whatley at 2.0 steals per game and in blocks by Moore at 1.3 blocks per game.
 
The Panthers are coached by Chris Foster, who is in his third season at Drury and his 10^th overall as a head coach. In his time as a head coach at Drury, Foster has amassed an 18-35 record. Prior to his time at Drury. Foster spent three seasons at McKendree and posted a 34-40 record. Before that, Foster had a four-year stint at Truman State where he went 83-40 and posted four-straight 20-plus win seasons.