MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas looks to dethrone the undefeated (GAC play) Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys on Saturday afternoon in the W.T. Watson Center before switching focus back to non-conference play for their 2 p.m. game on Monday, December 19 against Drury University.
SAU's most recent victory was an 89-67 win against Ouachita on December 10 in Arkadelphia. The Muleriders found rhythm in their three-point scoring and banked on their shooting consistency to land nine consecutive shots from behind the arc to finish at three-point shooting clip of 54.5%. SAU has shot over 50% from three in their last two matchups and have recorded double-digit threes made in three games this season.
The Muleriders hold the third-best field goal percentage at 49.1%, just 0.1% behind second place. The Muleriders have eclipsed a 50% shooting percentage thrice and have shot 40% or better in all eight games. SAU leads the GAC with a 13.9 scoring margin with an average 81.8 points on offensive scoring and 67.9 points on the defensive scoring side.
Seniors LaTreavin Black and Blake Rogers both lead team scoring with 89 points (11.1 ppg) while junior guard Gregory Hammond Jr. trails closely with 84 (10.5 ppg). Black additionally ranks 5th in the conference and leads the Mulerider clan with 57 rebounds (7.1 avg/g).
Arkansas Tech
The Wonder Boys are riding high on a five-game winning streak that included conference victories over UAM, Ouachita, and Henderson. ATU beat Henderson 73-64, Ouachita 74-65 in overtime and UAM 75-67. Tech has surpassed the 80-point mark once this season while the Muleriders have accomplished the feat four times.
Two Wonder Boys have surpassed the 100-point mark - Taelon Peter has recorded 140 points to average 15.6 per game while teammate Wes Harris has recorded 102 points at 12.8 per game. Harris, a transfer student from Cal State-LA, ranks 6th in the GAC and is averaging 7.1 rebounds per game alongside Southern Arkansas' Black. Harris also ranks 5th in the conference with his .629 field goal percentage and third with an average 1.8 blocked shots per game.
Head coach Mark Downey returned six players from the 2021-22 squad that went 10-18 overall and 7-15 in conference play. Joining Harris, Downey brought in another six transfers as well as bolstering the team with five new freshmen.
The Muleriders have won the previous four games against the Wonder Boys with their most recent coming as a 74-61 victory in Magnolia on February 26, 2022. The leading scorers from the February matchup, Talon and Niko Gosnell, both made their return for Arkansas Tech.
The Arkansas teams will tipoff at 3 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center in Magnolia on Saturday.
Drury University
Drury has lost seven of their last eight games, including a 64-67 loss to Quincy on December 10, and bring a 3-7 record into the Monday evening matchup in Magnolia. The only meeting between the two schools was a 66-58 Panther win in November 2019.
Drury enters the Magnolia meeting with a -3.1 scoring margin, averaging 70.1 points per game while allowing an average 73.2 points.
Through ten games, the Panthers have attempted 256 threes, making 96 for a shooting clip of 37.5%. The Springfield, Missouri team has played two Great American Conference teams in the 2022-23 season, losing to SWOSU 65-85 and ATU 61-68.
Quenton Shelton leads scoring for the Panthers with 119 points at an average 11.9 per game, while Adam Moore also records double-digit points per game figures at 11.1. Moore leads the team with 55 rebounds at an average 5.5 per game.
The teams will tipoff at 5 p.m. on Monday in Magnolia.
Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
