GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 0-0 (0-0 GAC)	#20 EMPORIA STATE HORNETS 1-1 (0-0 MIAA)	(rv) FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS 0-0 (0-0 MIAA)
Friday, November 10 | 5:30 p.m. White Auditorium | Emporia, Kan. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE AUDIO Saturday, November 11 | 5:45 p.m. White Auditorium | Emporia, Kan. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO ($)

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TIPPING OFF
For the third-consecutive season, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team will open their regular season by taking part in the GAC/MIAA Challenge and will once again face Emporia State and Fort Hays State.
 
This year, the regional crossover event will take place at the White Auditorium on the campus of Emporia State in Emporia, Kansas.
 
Last year, the event was played at Southwestern Oklahoma and Tech went 0-2 with a 67-57 loss to Emporia State and a 58-49 loss to Fort Hays State
 
The schedule for this weekend will see the Wonder Boys first play No. 20-ranked Emporia State on their home court on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. The following day, on Saturday, Tech will take on (rv) Fort Hays State starting at 5:45 p.m. 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys finished last season with a 16-15 record overall and a 12-10 mark in the Great American Conference to qualify as the No. 5-seed. Appearing in their first conference tournament since the 2017-18 season, the Wonder Boys made a run all the way to the championship game where they were upended by Southern Arkansas.
 
Last year, the Wonder Boys averaged 67.5 ppg and rank 11th in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys ranked fourth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 68.1 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys were 11th in the conference as they shot at an overall clip of .440 (754-of-1,714) and limited their opponents to a .436 mark (734-of-1,1685) to rank fourth.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shot at a clip of .288 (185-of-642) to rank 12th in the GAC while their opponents made three-pointers at a mark of .358 (240-of-670) to rank 9th. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shot .650 as a team (398-of-612) to rank 11th.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys had one player average double figures in scoring and were led by Taelon Peter and his 15.5 ppg. Returning for his junior season, Peter was a Second Team All-GAC selection last year and his ppg average was the highest by a Wonder Boy since the 2019-20 season.
 
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 110-87 record. Overall, Downey is in his 17th season as a head coach and has career record of 276-193. 

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SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is off to a 1-1 start to their season after taking part in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic last weekend. At the event, the Hornets lost their opener to No. 8-ranked UNC-Pembroke, 78-73, but bounced back to beat Virginia Union, 72-59.
 
After finishing the 2022-23 season 23-9 overall and going 15-7 in the vaunted MIAA, expectations for the Hornets were high coming into the 2023-24 campaign. So much so, that Hornets are ranked No. 20 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and are picked to finish second in the MIAA.
 
Statistically last season, the Hornets averaged 71.6 ppg on offense to rank fifth in the MIAA and gave up an average of 64.5 ppg to rank fifth in the MIAA. In terms of field goal percentages, Emporia State shot at a .449 clip overall (778-of-1734) to rank eighth and allowed opponents to shot at a mark of .411 (755-of-1,835) to rank third.
 
From three-point range, the Hornets shot at a .329 clip (240-of-730) to rank 12th in the MIAA and allowed opponents to shoot .324 (202-of-624) from range to rank second. At the charity stripe, the Hornets shot .740 (495-of-669) to rank fifth in the MIAA.
 
Individually, the Hornets had two players score in double figures in 2022-23 and were led by Owen Long at 17.2 ppg. Alijah Comithier was the other double-digit scorer at 14.6 ppg. Both are returners for the Hornets this year and are seniors on the court.
 
The Hornets are coached by Craig Doty, who is in his sixth season at Emporia State. In his time as a head coach at Emporia, Doty has amassed a 79-65 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 241-115 record as a head coach. 

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SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Fort Hays State ended their 2022-23 season 21-9 overall and posted a 15-7 mark in the MIAA to finish in a tie for third with Emporia State. Fort Hays would win their opening quarterfinal matchup against Rogers State in the MIAA Tournament, but lost in the semifinals to No.2-seeded Central Oklahoma.
 
Similar to Emporia State, expectations around the Tigers are high. Fort Hays is currently receiving votes in the NABC Top-25 national rankings and has been picked to finish third in the MIAA.
 
Statistically last season, the Tigers averaged 66.3 ppg on offense to rank 13th in the MIAA and gave up an average of 57.2 ppg to rank second in the MIAA. In terms of field goal percentages, Fort Hays State shot at a .455 clip overall (722-of-1,588) to rank fifth and allowed opponents to shot at a mark of .397 (583-of-1,470) to rank second.
 
From three-point range, the Tigers shot at a .337 clip (170-of-505) to rank 11th in the MIAA and allowed opponents to shoot .328 (177-of-539) from range to rank eighth. At the charity stripe, the Tigers shot .752 (376-of-500) to rank third in the MIAA.
 
Individually, the Tigers had two players score in double figures in 2022-23 and were led by Kaleb Hammeke at 16.4 ppg. Elijah Nnanbu was the other Tiger in double figures at 10.3 ppg. Both are returners for the Tigers.
 
The Tigers are coached by Mark Johnson, who is in his 23rd season at Fort Hays State. In his time as a head coach at Fort Hays, Johnson has amassed a 428-212 record and advanced the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament seven times.