SHAWNEE – Following an incredible comeback win last weekend, Oklahoma Baptist (5-3, 2-0 GAC) plays Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central this week.
The Bison will host the Savage Storm (3-5, 1-1 GAC) on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. before a Saturday road date with the Tigers (4-4, 1-1 GAC) at Kerr Activities Center. That contest also will tip off at 7:30 p.m. in Ada.
Recently, Southeastern has won five of the last six over the Bison and hold a 14-6 series advantage. In five of those previous contests, the margin of victory was decided by single digits. SE's lone loss to the Bison came in overtime, 87-84, last season on Feb. 29, 2024.
As for the matchup with East Central, the green and gold hold a slim, 12-11 series lead. ECU has won three straight including sweeping last year's two regular-season games. In fact, the last of those matchups, on March 2, 2024, kept OBU out of the GAC Tournament.
The Bison Sports Network's Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on the call of the games.
Here are notes on all three squads as we near Christmas break.
Bison Notes
- OBU stunned Southern Arkansas in its last game, rallying from a nine-point deficit with 1:38 left. Terry Coner Jr. provided the game-winning layup as the Bison won 82-79.
- Coner Jr. is one of four Bison to average double-figure scoring totals this season. He leads with a 14.4 average, 11th-best in the GAC. Plus, he is second in free throw percentage (92.6).
- Defensively, Coner Jr. ranks third with a 2.29 steals-per-game average.
- Guard Ethan Scott has been on a tear from the three-point line recently. His overall percentage of 56.6 is fifth-best in Division II and tops in the GAC. He's also made 18-of-26 over the past five games, a 69.2 percent clip.
- Of note, after Scott's 4-for-5 performance from deep versus SAU, he became just the second Bison to make multiple threes and convert on at least 50 percent of those in five consecutive games. The last time that happened was between Dec. 18, 2018 and Feb. 9, 2019 by then-junior guard Tyler Lester.
- Six-foot-eight forward Nathan Wilson continues to be a force in the low block for OBU. He scored a career-high 22 points versus Southern Arkansas and pulled down 12 rebounds.
- Wilson is second in the GAC in rebounding (8.9) and continues to lead in blocks (13). He's also second with three double-doubles.
- As a team, OBU is the conference leader and ranks 52nd nationally with a 5.5 rebounding margin. The Bison are also 57th in D2 and third in the GAC with a 37.3 three-point field-goal percentage.
- Should the Bison win on Thursday over Southeastern, they'll be 3-0 in the Great American Conference for the first time ever.
Savage Storm Notes
- Southeastern defeated Ouachita, 82-80, on Dec. 7, holding off a few last-second shot attempts by the Tigers to prevail.
- Thursday's game in Shawnee is the first road game for Southeastern since Nov. 9. That's a span of 32 days.
- SE's biggest strength so far this season is its three-point shooting. At 41.4 percent, they rank seventh in the country and first in the GAC. They also rank second in the conference and 28th nationally with 10.3 makes from deep per game.
- Furthermore, Southeastern's rebounding ability is solid. They are second in the league in offensive and defensive rebounds per game, and second in rebounding margin (4.9).
- The Storm also average 85.1 points per game, second-best in the GAC.
- Individually, a few players stick out. DJ Dill is ninth in the league in scoring (16.0) while Daniel Halldorsson is fourth in the country with 69 assists. Halldorsson is also third nationally with an 8.6 assists average.
- Landon Condiff also has top-three GAC marks in three-point attempts (62), three-pointers per game (2.75) and three-point makes (22).
- Lastly, Robert Briley is one of the top rebounders in the GAC. He's fourth in total rebounds (61) and offensive (2.5) and defensive (5.1) rebounds per game.
Tigers Notes
- East Central was upended at home against Henderson State last weekend, falling 67-58.
- The Tigers' defense has been outstanding up to this point. They allow teams a 38.3 field-goal percentage. That's 10th in the country and first in the league.
- Plus, teams are shooting just 30 percent from three against ECU. That's a top-50 NCAA mark and third in the conference.
- ECU has also done well on the rebounding front. It pulls down 29.5 defensive boards a game. That total is also first in the GAC and 16th-best nationally.
- Individually, Bishop Jones has been a force offensively. He's 11th in the nation in field-goal percentage (67.9) and 22nd with 68 free throw attempts.
- Jones' 18.6 points per game average is also sixth-best in the GAC.
- Mark Rucha and Jourdyn Grandberry rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in the GAC in assists at 3.4 and 3.1, respectively, per game.
- One aspect that's negatively affected ECU has been its free throw shooting. At 64.7 percent, they rank 10th out of 12 GAC teams.
