SHAWNEE – After suffering two tough losses by a mere six points last week, Oklahoma Baptist (16-10, 13-7 GAC) returns to action with games at Southeastern Oklahoma State and at home against East Central.
OBU faces the Savage Storm on Feb. 27 in Durant before a March 1 date with ECU inside the Noble Complex. Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m. starts. Earlier this season, the green and gold rolled SE 97-66 before a 72-66 win in Ada over the Tigers.
At this moment, the Bison are still in contention for at least a share of the GAC Regular Season Title. But they'll need some help as Southern Nazarene is two games ahead of OBU, while Ouachita is one game in front. Furthermore, if the GAC Tournament started tomorrow, the Bison would have a rematch with Henderson State next Friday in Fort Smith.
More will be known by Saturday night. As usual, the Bison Sports Network crew of Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on the broadcast of this week's games. Below are notes on all three teams.
Bison Notes
- OBU fell 81-80 to Henderson, a team that missed 21 free throws in that game, before being nipped by Ouachita, 85-80. The Bison had halftime leads in both.
- Ricky Brown was outstanding last week, averaging 19.5 points per game while hitting 56 percent from downtown. He needs just 23 more points to become the 50th OBU player to ever score 1,000 in his career.
- This season, Brown is ninth in the GAC in three-point percentage (41.5).
- Nathan Wilson bumped his GAC-leading block total to 34 after last week. That's the most blocks by a Bison player since Harrison Stoddart recorded 41 in 2019-20.
- Also of note, Terry Coner Jr. and Daniel Ransom each averaged 17.0 points last week.
- For Coner Jr., he's eighth in the GAC in scoring (15.9) and sixth in assists (3.6). Furthermore, in the previous matchup with Southeastern on Dec. 12, he scored 20 and helped the Bison shoot a season-high 66.1 percent.
- Ransom's having a good year too, ranking top-25 in scoring (11.5), rebounding (5.9) and field-goal percentage (45.7).
- One last note on the previous SE matchup, the Bison crushed the Savage Storm in the paint, outscoring them 44-20 and holding a plus-10 rebounding margin (38-28).
- As for the previous contest with East Central, OBU's free throw shooting was key. They hit 21-of-29 (72.4) and tallied eight more points on the charity stripe than the Tigers (21-13).
Savage Storm Notes
- Southeastern is currently occupying the ninth-place slot in the standings, one game back of Southern Arkansas. The top eight qualify for the GAC Tournament.
- SE has lost two of three after suffering a 95-74 setback at Harding on Feb. 23
- The Storm's defense has been the primary reason for struggle this year. They allow a league-worst 78.2 points per game and 37.6 percent shooting from three.
- Individually, Landon Condiff's 12.9 points average ranks 15th in the league while Robert Briley's 7.3 rebounds mark is No. 4.
- Plus, Briley shoots 59.9 percent from the field, fourth-best in the GAC.
- Redshirt sophomore Santiago Camacho Gomez is legit three-point shooter ranking sixth in the conference at 42.2 percent. He's made as many as four 3-pointers in a game (ECU; 1/23).
- SE's last key player is Daniel Halldorsson. His 6.6 assists average is first in the GAC and fourth nationally. In the previous game with OBU, he tallied six dimes but also committed four turnovers.
Tigers Notes
- ECU needs a lot of help to get into the GAC Tournament. Currently they are two games back of SAU and sit at 10-16 overall and 7-13 in the GAC.
- The Tigers have lost three of four after getting crushed against Arkansas Tech, 70-47, on Feb. 23.
- Bishop Jones had a team-high and top-five GAC mark in scoring (19.1) but got injured Jan. 11 against Southern Arkansas and hasn't played since.
- Teammate Nikk Williams has tallied 12.8 points per contest this season, 16th-best in the GAC. He's also sixth in rebounding (6.7) and third in blocks (25).
- In the last matchup with OBU, the Tigers made just 25.9 percent from deep and were a woeful 13-of-22 (59.1) from the charity stripe.
- This season, ECU ranks 10th of 12 GAC schools in scoring (70.3) and three-point percentage (32.2).
- In 11 Division II matchups between ECU and OBU, the Tigers have won six at the Noble Complex. That includes the last two by 84-83 and 78-70 scores.
