GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 5-2 (2-0 GAC)	HENDERSON STATE REDDIES 2-3 (1-1 GAC)
Saturday, December 9 | 3 p.m. Duke Wells Center | Arkadelphia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO GAME NOTES

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TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team jumps back into Great American Conference play on Saturday afternoon on the road at Henderson State.
 
This will be the 179^th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Henderson State in a series that dates back to 1930. Overall, Henderson holds a 93-85 lead in the series. Since the two became charter members of the GAC prior to the 2011-12 season, the Wonder Boys are 10-13 against Henderson State.
 
As conference foes, the two teams met twice last season in the regular season and the season series was split with each team winning on their home court. Tech won the initial meeting, 73-64, while Henderson captured the second game, 81-61.
 
Tip-off for Saturday afternoon's game is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys are 5-2 overall this season and are 2-0 in the early goings of the GAC. Most-recently, the Wonder Boys extended their winning streak to five games with an 87-69 win at home against a talented Central Baptist team in non-conference action this past Tuesday.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys average 78.6 ppg and rank third in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys rank eighth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 72.1 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are third in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .484 (195-of-403) and limit their opponents to a .457 mark (168-of-368) to rank eighth.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .417 (60-of-144) to rank first in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .371 (56-of-151) to rank 10th. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .690 as a team (100-of-145) to rank fifth.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have three players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Taelon Peter and his 21.0 ppg. Cassius Brooks is next in scoring at 12.9 ppg followed by Seybian Sims at 12.0 pgg. BJ Johnson is just off that double-figure pace at 9.4 ppg.
 
Josh Mitchell is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Brooks leads the team and is averaging 3.3 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Wonder Boys are led in steals by Peter at 2.3 steals per game and in blocks by Mitchell at 1.3 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 115-89 record. Overall, Downey is in his 17th season as a head coach and has career record of 281-195.
 

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SCOUTING THE REDDIES
Henderson State is 2-3 overall this season and are 1-1 in GAC play. The Reddies are coming off a convincing 90-59 thumping of Arkansas-Monticello at home this past Saturday.
 
Statistically, the Reddies average 79.4 ppg and rank second in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Reddies rank third in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 67.2 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Reddies are second in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .498 (156-of-313) and limit their opponents to a .403 mark (116-of-288) to rank first.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Reddies shoot at a clip of .372 (29-of-78) to rank fourth in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .273 (30-of-110) to rank first. From the free throw line, the Reddies shoot .659 as a team (56-of-85) to rank 11th.
 
Individually, the Reddies have three players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Zyon Patterson and his 14.8 ppg. Clarence King is next at 12.4 ppg followed by Malek Davis who rounds out double-figure scoring at 11.4 pgg.
 
Tomislav Miholjcic is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Davis leads the team and is averaging 2.4 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Reddies are led in steals by Davis at 1.8 steals per game and in blocks by King and Patterson at 0.6 blocks per game.
 
The Reddies are coached by Jimmy Elgas, who is in his ninth season as head coach at Henderson State. In his time at HSU, Elgas has amassed a 125-104 record and led the Reddies to a GAC Tournament Championship in 2020.