Savage Storm Open 2016 With ATU, HU

Men's Basketball | 1/6/2016 5:03:00 PM

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern will be aiming to snap a five-game losing skid and open up 2016 with wins as it hosts Arkansas Tech at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 followed by a Jan. 9 matchup with Harding at 3 p.m., both in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The Savage Storm come into the weekend with a 4-6 record, but picked up their fifth-straight loss on Dec. 31 when they fell at No. 12 Tarleton State 81-55.  SE is 2-2 in GAC play which has them in a three-way tie for fifth.
 
The Wonder Boys enter Thursday with an 8-2 mark overall and a 3-1 record in league play which puts them in a three-way tie for second, and among those knotted at 3-1 in conference play is Southeastern's Saturday opponent HU who is 4-5 overall on the year.
 
The Storm is paced by the back-court duo of Sami Bzai and Anton Cook who are averaging 16.9 and 15.4 ppg, respectively.
 
Bzai's mark is good for eighth best in the GAC, while Cook is in 12^th in scoring.
 
Bzai has hit 23 three-point buckets on the season and is shooting 39.0 percent from long range, while Cook has added 17 from outside the arc and is shooting 37.8 percent.
 
Nathan Jackson is just shy of double figures with 9.9 ppg, while Tyler Lonzie is chipping in 7.7 as Southeastern is averaging 76.0 ppg which is in the top half of the league in scoring.
 
Cook is sixth in the league in assists at 3.2 per outing, while Bzai is in the top 10 at 2.9 per game and the Storm overall is fourth with 14.2 assists per game.
 
On defense Jackson leads the way on the boards with 7.2 rebounds per game which is the fifth-best mark in the GAC, while SE is fourth as a team at 39.0 rpg.
 
SE is also second in the conference in blocked shots, averaging 4.3 per game, led by Lonzie with 1.2 per outing.
 
ATU comes to town on a seven-game winning streak after posting an 85-64 win over USAO on Jan. 2.
 
The Wonder Boys are led by Marquis Yates who is averaging 15.6 ppg and leads a trio of double-digit averages.
 
Nick Wayman leads the way on the boards with 7.6 rpg, while ATU holds an edge on the glass over its opponents by nearly 10 rebounds per game on the year.
 
HU comes into the weekend off a nearly month-long break since dropping back-to-back games to Texas A&M-Commerce, first by two points at home and then by six in Commerce, Texas, on Dec. 10.
 
The Bisons are led on offense by Andraz Kavas who is averaging 20.9 ppg to lead a group of five players who are averaging double-digit points.
 
Kavaz also paces the club on the glass at 6.6 rebounds per game, while as a team they are dead even in rebounding versus their oppoonents.