GAME INFORMATION
(2) ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 23-6 (18-4 GAC)	(3) NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA RANGERS 17-12 (14-8 GAC)
Saturday, March 9 | 2:15 p.m. FireLake Arena | Shawnee, Okla. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | GAME NOTES

TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team has advanced to their second-straight Great American Conference Tournament Semifinals after holding off No. 7-seed Harding, 67-65, in the opening round on Thursday. On Friday, Tech's opponent was determined as No. 3-seed Northwestern Oklahoma won their opening round game, 82-74, over No. 6-seed Southwestern Oklahoma.
 
This will be the 24th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma in a series that dates back to the 1971-72 season. Overall, Tech leads the series, 15-8. Since the two became conference foes within the GAC prior to the 2012-13 season, the Wonder Boys are 15-7 against NWOSU.
 
This will be the third game between the Wonder Boys and Rangers this season. The regular season series was split with both teams winning on the road. Northwestern picked up the first win, 63-54, in Russellville back on January 18 while Tech won at NWOSU, 70-63, on February 24.
 
Tip-off for Saturday's semifinal game is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. from FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Wonder Boys ended the regular season 22-6 overall and 18-4 in the GAC to claim a share of the conference championship. By way of tie-breaker scenarios with Southeastern Oklahoma, the Wonder Boys are the No. 2-seed in the GAC Tournament.
 
Tech is in the semifinals of the tournament for the second-straight year after surviving an upset threat of No. 7-seed Harding in the opening round on Thursday. The Wonder Boys were able to overcome a halftime deficit and beat the Rangers, 67-65.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys average 74.2 ppg and rank fifth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Wonder Boys rank first in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 65.8 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Wonder Boys are fifth in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .465 (762-of-1,638) and limit their opponents to a .423 mark (636-of-1,505) to rank first.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Wonder Boys shoot at a clip of .397 (261-of-658) to rank first in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .354 (196-of-554) to rank seventh. From the free throw line, the Wonder Boys shoot .712 as a team (368-of-517) to rank sixth.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have three players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Taelon Peter and his 19.8 ppg. Tommy Kamarad and Cassius Brooks are next in scoring at 12.2 ppg and 12.1 ppg, respectively.
 
Peter is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Kade Shaffer leads the team and is averaging 4.8 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Wonder Boys are led in steals by Peter at 1.9 steals per game and in blocks by Josh Mitchell at 1.8 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 133-93 record. Overall, Downey is in his 17th season as a head coach and has career record of 299-199.
 

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SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Northwestern Oklahoma ended the regular season 16-12 and 14-8 in GAC play to earn the No. 3-seed in the GAC Tournament. The Rangers advanced to the semifinals to take on Tech thanks to an 82-74 win over No. 6-seed Southwestern Oklahoma.
 
Statistically, the Rangers average 73.7 ppg and rank sixth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Rangers rank sixth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 72.2 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Rangers are third in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .471 (733-of-1,557) and limit their opponents to a .444 mark (702-of-1,581) to rank fourth.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Rangers shoot at a clip of .387 (230-of-594) to rank second in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .318 (199-of-626) to rank first. From the free throw line, the Rangers shoot .728 as a team (440-of-604) to rank fourth.
 
Individually, the Rangers have three players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Camron McDowell and his 16.2 ppg. Brian Free is next at 14.3 ppg while Larry White rounds out double-figure scoring at 11.1 ppg.
 
White is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 5.0 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, McDowell leads the team and is averaging 2.3 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Rangers are led in steals by White at 1.7 steals per game and in blocks by White at 1.0 blocks per game.
 
The Rangers are coached by Robby Harman, who is in his second season as head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma. At NWOSU, Harman is 28-27.