SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (13-13, 10-10 GAC) will hit the road to Durant tonight for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Southeastern Oklahoma State (16-9, 13-7 GAC) before returning to the Noble Complex for senior night on Saturday versus East Central (16-10, 11-9 GAC) at 3 p.m. to wrap up its regular-season schedule.
OBU spit the series between the two ball clubs in December, drawing a 85-80 loss versus SE before taking down East Central 70-64 in Ada. There is storied history against the two teams as each holds all-time series advantages of 81-79 (ECU) and 104-59 (SE) over Oklahoma Baptist. Furthermore, the Bison have not beaten the Savage Storm since 2021.
The games will be called on the Bison Radio Network featuring the play-by-play of Todd Miller and the color commentary of Scott Wanish.
HISTORIC WIN
Oklahoma Baptist pulled off one of its most historic wins last week in beating Southern Arkansas at their place for the first time in program history. A D.J. Freeman tip-in a the buzzer notched the 76-74 victory over the Muleriders and gave OBU its 13th win of the season. Before the triumph, the Bison had lost six straight times in Magnolia.
PATH TO MARCH
With a spot in the conference tournament looming in the balance, the two games ahead are crucial for Oklahoma Baptist. The Bison sit nearly on the outer banks of the top eight that make the tournament, holding a one-win advantage in GAC play over Henderson State and Southwestern State. East Central and Southeastern have both clinched postseason berths, as the Savage Storm rank in a tie for second with 13 wins. The Bison have not missed the conference big dance since head coach Jason Eaker took over in 2018-19.
FRESHMAN WARRIORS
Ethan Scott lit up Arkansas-Monticello for a career-high 17 points last Thursday. The guard only missed one shot, shooting 80 percent (5-6) from the field with a 4-5 showing from three-point. He also added a season-high in rebounds (3). It was the fifth time Scott had reached double figures this season, scoring 12 points on four other occasions. Furthermore, it was the fifth time he has knocked down four triples in a contest. Scott's workload has increased exponentially in the last part of the season, averaging 18.5 mpg in the last eight games. During the span, in which he made his first start, Scott averaged 8.7 ppg and hit the most three-pointers (23-50) on the team at a 46.0 percent rate.
Joshua Udoumoh has also saw his play time increase over the eight-game stretch. He clocked 19.4 mpg and averaged 7.0 ppg. His career night came against nationally ranked Southern Nazarene a few games back, where he scored 13 points and shot 3-4 (75%) from deep. Udoumoh also scored 10 points versus Southern Arkansas, a game where he also pulled down five rebounds and hit a three-pointer.
This season, he has reached double figures in points five times, averaging 4.6 per game. Udoumoh has the sixth-most rebounds on the team (66) and the fifth-most assists (25).
SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM
Southeastern Oklahoma State enters Thursday with a 16-9 overall record, including a 13-7 mark in Great American Conference action. The Savage Storm clinched a berth into the conference tournament two weeks ago, following a Saturday victory over Arkansas-Monticello, and sit tied for second with Southern Arkansas.
SE is coming off a 83-70 win against Ouachita Baptist over the weekend in Arkadelphia. Southeastern shot over 50 percent from the floor to and had four players reach double figures.
The Savage Storm are the highest scoring offense (84.6 ppg) and the best free throw shooting (78.5%) team in the league. Much of their points have come from beyond the arc where SE is splashing 10.2 baskets per game at a 37.5 percent clip. Southeastern's 256 three-point makes lead the GAC and rank 16th in the country.
Defensively, SE has not been so great. They allow the second-most points per game (77.9 ppg), while their opponents are shooting the third-best shooting percentage per game (46.3%) in the conference.
Senior guard Jett Sternberger is the team's leader offensively and the third-best scorer in the GAC, averaging 16.9 ppg. Sternberger is shooting 46.6 percent from beyond the arc and has knocked down the third most threes on the squad at a 35.3 percent rate. Additionally, he is SE's greatest asset from the free throw line, nailing 83.7 percent (72-86) of his attempts.
Point guard Brennen Burks has been the Savage Storm's best addition this season, averaging 15.0 ppg while shooting a scorching 52.7 percent from the floor. He leads the conference in assists per game (4.7) and ranks third in steals (44), averaging 1.8 per contest. Burks has even been efficient from range, cashing 43.9 percent of his shots.
SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
East Central has a 16-10 overall record and an 11-9 record against GAC competition. The Tigers are riding a four-game winning streak, with its most recent victory coming over Henderson State by a score of 90-79. The Tigers have played outstanding on the road, boasting a tie for the second-best away record in the GAC (8-4).
The Tigers are allowing the second-least amount of points in the league at 66.3 ppg and have the sixth-best scoring offense (73.4 ppg). Furthermore, their margin of victory (7.1) is only second to top-ranked Southern Nazarene
Keyon Thomas leads the squad scoring 13.2 ppg, shooting just over 50 percent for the year. He adds 37 steals and the third-most rebounds on the team. Quinton Johnson trails at 12.4 ppg in only 16 games of action this season.
Graduate student Luke Harper produces 9.8 ppg and has the third-best free throw percentage in the GAC. Harper also dishes out 3.9 assists per game, third-most in the league. Last week against Henderson, Harper posted a season-high nine assists.
