Men's Hoops Set for Battle of Storms

Men's Basketball | 1/22/2016 1:48:00 PM

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern will set out to climb back into the race for a spot in the postseason tournament when it travels to Bethany, Okla., on Jan. 23 for a 3 p.m. matchup with Southern Nazarene.
 
The Savage Storm are coming off a loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State which dropped them to 5-11 overall and 3-7 in Great American Conference play, leaving them a game behind the tie between Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma State for the final two spots in the league's postseason tournament as the conference season nears its midway point.
 
The 89-82 loss to SWOSU was the third-straight on the season and now the team will embark on a three-game road swing.
 
In its last outing SE put all five starters in double-figures, led by 20 points from Sami Bzai and 18 from Anton Cook.
 
That duo continues to pace the Storm offense on the season, with Cook averaging 16.8 ppg, while Bzai is right behind at 14.6 per outing.
 
SE is averaging 74.1 ppg and shooting 43.8 percent from the floor, but is having a tough time stopping its opponents who are averaging 82.8 ppg and shooting 45.6 percent.
 
Cook and Bzai are each averaging 3.1 assists per game to trigger the offense.
 
Nathan Jackson continues to lead SE on the boards with 6.4 per game, while Tyler Lonzie is adding 5.6 per contest.
 
SNU comes into the game at 7-9 overall and 6-4 in GAC play, but lost by 26 at East Central to snap a three-game winning streak.
 
CJ Rodriguez leads a trio of double-digit scorers with 18.7 ppg, while LB Willis is at 15.9 and the team as a whole is averaging 79.8 while allowing its opponents to score 82.4 per game.
 
CJ White leads the team on the glass with 5.4 rebounds per game, while Willis dishes out a team-best 3.9 assists per contest.