SE Hosts Battle of Preseason Favorites

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern will host a battle of the Great American Conference's preseason top-ranked teams when it hosts No. 5 Southern Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The Savage Storm enter the contest with a 4-1 record on the season and a 1-1 mark in league player after a split to open the conference schedule.
 
SNU comes to town with an 8-0 record and a 2-0 start to the GAC season.
 
Both Storms entered the season at the top of the league's preseason poll, with SNU as the favorite and Southeastern ranked second.
 
SE comes into the contest paced by Kevin Buckingham who is the only players in the league averaging a double-double, ranking third in scoring with 22.5 ppg and first in rebounds with 10.8 rpg. On the season he is shooting 68.0 percent from the floor and 64.3 percent from three-point range while adding an 86.7 percent effort at the free throw line.
 
He is joined in double-figures by Kellen Manek and Jett Jobe. Manek is averaging 17.2 ppg while shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and 48.0 percent from three-point range and adding an 83.3 percent mark at the free throw line. Jobe is turning in 13.0 ppg and has been a key distributer of the ball, averaging 6.0 assists per game.
 
As a team the Storm are putting up 82.8 ppg while holding opponents to 73.0 per outing. SE is also shooting 47.4 percent from the field as a team and hitting 38.7 percent of its threes.
 
The Crimson Storm comes to Durant averaging 84.4 ppg on the year, led by a trio of double-digit scorers.  Jhonathan Dunn leads the way with 18.9 ppg, while Noah Starkey is next in line with 15.4 ppg, followed by Micah Speight at 14.1.
 
Starkey leads the way on the glass with 7.6 rpg, while Speight is handing out a team-best 7.0 assists per outing.