Long Wait Almost Over for Wonder Boys

Most of the rest of the college basketball world started spinning last weekend, but for the nationally 24th-ranked Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys it has been a long wait for Tuesday, Nov. 15, and their 2011-12 season opener to finally arrive. Arkansas Tech will host the Central Baptist College Mustangs (2-4) for a 7 p.m. non-conference contest at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Tuesday. Tickets will be available at the door. Those with a valid Tech identification card will be admitted free. “It hit me on Friday when pretty much everybody else got it going as the scores started to scroll by and you saw games on TV at the Division I level,” said Doug Karleskint, who is beginning his second season as Wonder Boys head coach. “A lot of our fellow Great American Conference members already have two games under their belts, so we are itching to go. It’ll be great to see the people in the stands, smell the popcorn and hear the sounds of the game. It’s an exciting time of year.” The Wonder Boys finished with an overall record of 25-6, a Gulf South Conference West Division championship and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2010-11. It was the third consecutive regional semifinal appearance for the Wonder Boys. Karleskint has targeted one specific area in which his team must improve in order to live up to the standard set by recent Arkansas Tech teams. “Effort is really the biggest thing,” said Karleskint. “This is a higher level of basketball than a lot of our new guys have ever played at before, and they have to understand how hard you have to play each and every possession in order to be a good team. You slack off one possession on defense and give up a layup, chances are that layup will come back to haunt you.” Central Baptist is coming off an 81-61 loss at John Brown University on Saturday. The Mustangs are led in scoring by forwards Spencer Caraway (17.3 points per game) and Tommy Williams (17.0 points per game). Russellville radio station KWKK 100.9 FM will have the broadcast of the Tech-CBC game.

Click here to access an Internet stream of the broadcast. After hosting CBC, the Wonder Boys will make their first road trip of the season on Saturday, Nov. 19, for a 7 p.m. contest at MidAmerica Christian in Oklahoma City.

Click here to learn more about Arkansas Tech men’s basketball.

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