DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State hits the road for a four-game stretch away from the Bloomer Sullivan Arena, starting with East Central and Southern Nazarene.
The Savage Storm head to Ada first to renew their rivalry with ECU at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, in the Kerr Activities Center before heading to the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla. on Saturday at 3 p.m. to face SNU.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (5-11, 3-7) split a pair of home games recently after a dominant 94-58 win over Harding following a second-half surge that the Storm outscored the Bisons 59-22. In the second game of the week, SE dropped a 76-64 contest to Arkansas Tech. Through the halfway point in GAC play, SE is tied for 11
th in the league table and is one game back of eighth-place ATU.
The Storm saw big numbers versus Harding, highlighted by
Daniel Halldorsson, who posted the program's first triple-double in the Division II era with 12 assists, 11 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman guard leads the conference in assists and ranks fourth across DII with 6.9 per game for 111 total assists. Halldorsson has also chipped in 10.1 points per game and is joined by
DJ Dill in double-figures with a team-high 15.4 points per contest.
Robert Briley has provided Southeastern with a strong presence at the glass, as the forward averages a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game – the third most in the GAC. Defensively, the Wright City, Okla. native leads the blue and gold with 16 blocks and averages 1.0 per game while providing 11.2 points a contest on the other end of the court. Briley has reached double-digit points in his last five games, including a season-high 16 in the win over Harding.
Thursday's rivalry game between Southeastern and East Central will be the 191
st meeting, with the series tied 95-all. SE swept the season series in 2023-24 and has won five of the last six contests, including three road matchups. In last year's two contests,
Landon Condiff combined for 27 points on 6-12 shooting from beyond the arc and ten rebounds, while Briley posted 21 points and ten boards.
SE meets Southern Nazarene for the second time on Saturday for the 31
st contest in the GAC era. SNU got the better of the Savage Storm in the first meeting this season with an 87-81 win in Bloomer Sullivan Arena to make it two wins in a row over Southeastern. SE's last trip to the Sawyer Center saw the blue and gold grab an 85-77 overtime win over the Crimson Storm with the help of 14 points from
Chandler Dickinson.
PREVIEWING EAST CENTRAL
The Tigers carry a three-game win streak into Thursday's contest against the Storm after a slow start to conference play. ECU had one win in its first seven league games but has since turned things around for a 4-6 in GAC play and 7-9 overall. East Central picked up two wins over Arkansas Tech and Harding most recently, defeating the Wonder Boys 77-57 and the Bisons 77-65 at home.
ECU has one of the top scorers in the GAC in Bishop Jones, who ranks fourth in the conference with 19.1 points per game. The redshirt freshman forward combined for 40 points versus ATU and HU and has recorded 12 straight double-digit point games, including a pair of 30 and 20-point contests. Bishop helps lead a team that averages 72.6 points per game and shoots 46.7 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from three-point range.
PREVIEWING SOUTHERN NAZARENE
Southern Nazarene sits atop the league standings near the halfway point of the regular season at a 9-1 in the league standings and a 12-2 overall record. This season, the Crimson Storm have been excellent at home, with six wins and zero defeats in 2024-25, and are currently on a nine-game home win streak that goes back to the end of last year.
SNU's leading scorer, Stevie Strong, went off last week, averaging 32.5 points per game in the Crimson Storm's two wins and posted a season-high 34 points versus Henderson State. Additionally, Strong totaled six steals, 13 assists and nine rebounds to earn GAC Offensive Player of the Week. The senior guard averages 16.0 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting from the field and paces the team with 4.8 assists per game.
