GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 11-8 (9-4 GAC)	EAST CENTRAL TIGERS 10-9 (5-8 GAC)	SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA SAVAGE STORM 12-6 (9-4 GAC)
Thursday, February 2 | 7:30 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO Saturday, February 4 | 3 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO GAME NOTES

TIPPING OFF
As the calendar has turned to February, the 2022-23 regular season is down to its final month, making each game from here on out vitally important for all teams. Needing to finish in the top-eight to qualify for the upcoming GAC Tournament in early March, all 12 GAC teams are feverishly jockeying for position in the league standings during this stretch run.
 
Despite a tough road trip to the Sooner State last week, the Wonder Boys have the benefit of playing at home this week and are set to take on East Central on Thursday night and Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon.
 
Earlier this season, the Wonder Boys beat both ECU and Southeastern Oklahoma on the road and so they will be looking to secure any potential tie-breakers with a season-sweep.
 
In terms of all-time series histories, this will be the 38th meeting against East Central, and the 37th meeting between Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma. Against Southeastern, Tech holds a 21-16 lead in the series. Against ECU, Tech leads 19-18.
 

---

Talking Tech
The Wonder Boys enter play this weekend with an 11-8 overall record and are tied for third place in the Great American Conference standings at 9-4. The Wonder Boys are looking to return to their winning ways having dropped their last two games played, both on the road.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys are averaging 66.9 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 65.4 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are 10th in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .436 (460-of-1,055) and limit their opponents to a .421 mark (427-of-1,015) to rank third.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .272 (103-of-378) to rank 12th in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .348 (141-of-405) to rank ninth. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .643 as a team (249-of-387) to rank 11th.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have two players averaging double figures in scoring. Taelon Peter leads the way at 13.6 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 105-80 record. Overall, Downey is in his 16th season as a head coach and has career record of 271-186.
 

---

Scouting the Tigers
East Central enters this weekend's games with a 10-9 overall record and are 5-8 in GAC play. Last week they went 1-2 in a trio of home games, beating Henderson State, 73-53, on Thursday and losing to Southeastern Oklahoma, 83-71, on Monday and Ouachita, 76-68, on Saturday.
 
Statistically for the year, the Tigers are averaging 72.9 ppg on offense to rank sixth in the GAC and are giving up an average of 65.8 ppg to rank third in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, ECU shoots at a .478 clip overall (507-of-1,061) to rank second in the league and allow opponents to shoot at a mark of .409 (432-of-1,055) to rank second.
 
From three-point range, the Tigers shoot at a .355 clip (161-of-454) to rank fifth in the GAC and allow opponents to shoot .307 (134-of-436) from range to rank first. At the charity stripe, the Tigers shoot .730 (211-of-289) to rank fifth in the GAC.
 
Individually, the Tigers have two players scoring in double figures with Keyon Thomas leading the way at 13.4 ppg. Quinton Johnson II did not begin playing until the second semester, but in nine games, he is averaging 13.7 ppg. Five other Tigers are averaging at least 8.0 ppg.
 
The Tigers are coached by Daniel Wheeler, who is in his first season as head coach at East Central. Prior to coming to ECU, Wheeler spent seven years as an assistant coach at the University of Central Oklahoma. At UCO, Wheeler helped lead the Bronchos to 112 wins and three 20-plus win campaigns. UCO also reached the MIAA Tournament three times and advanced to the NCAA Central Region Tournament in his final year there in 2021-22.
 

---

Scouting the Savage Storm
Southeastern Oklahoma enters this weekend at 12-6 overall and are 9-4 in the GAC. Prior to playing Tech on Saturday, the Savage Storm will have played on the road at Harding on Thursday night. Heading into their game with Harding, Southeastern Oklahoma is looking to keep their four-game winning streak going. Their last defeat came to the hands of league-leading Southern Nazarene back on January 18.
 
Statistically, the Savage Storm are averaging 86.4 ppg on offense to rank first in the GAC and are giving up an average of 78.0 ppg to rank 12th in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, SE shoots at a .477 clip overall (559-of-1,172) to rank fourth in the league and allow opponents to shoot at a mark of .460 (538-of-1,170) to rank 10th.
 
From three-point range, the Savage Storm shoot at a .395 clip (194-of-491) to rank third in the GAC and allow opponents to shoot .333 (137-of-411) from range to rank fifth. At the charity stripe, the Savage Storm shoot .755 (244-of-323) to rank second in the GAC.
 
Individually, the Savage Storm have five players scoring in double figures and are led by Jett Sternberger at 19.2 ppg. Brennen Burns is next in scoring at 14.4 ppg and is followed by Kody Clouet at 12.0 ppg. Kyle Leslie and Landon Condiff and round out double-figure scoring at 10.5 and 10.4 ppg, respectively.
 
The Savage Storm are coached by Kelly Green, who is in his 12th season as head coach at Southeastern. In his time, Green has led the Savage Storm to 15 or more wins and winning seasons six times with three of those campaigns coming within the last four years.
 
During that stretch, Green and the Savage Storm have won at least 23 games three times. The only exception to that was the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season where the team only played 19 total games.
 
Green has also twice led the team to a NCAA Regional Tournament with appearances in 2018-19 and 2019-20.