SE Battles East Central Thursday and NWOSU Monday

DURANT, Okla. – The road stretch continues for Southeastern this week at rivals East Central on Thursday and Northwestern Oklahoma State on Monday. The Savage Storm and Tigers take the court at 7:30 p.m. in the Kerr Activities Center on Thursday before heading to the Alva on Monday, Jan. 26 at 730 p.m. to face the Rangers.
 
SERIES NOTES

• Southeastern has had ECU's number the last two seasons, having swept the season series in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The Storm and Tigers are set to meet for the 193^rd time on Thursday, as the blue and gold lead 97-95. In the GAC era, the Tigers do hold a one-game advantage with a 15-14 record.
• SE defeated NWOSU in the first meeting this season in a 99-91 overtime win. The two sides have gone to overtime now in two of the last three matchups and are tied 1-1 in extra period games. Southeastern now leads the series 29-27 heading into the 56^th contest.

STORM REPORT
Southeastern went 0-2 on its Arkansas road trip last week, falling to Harding and Arkansas Tech. The pair of defeats drops the Storm to 4-12 this season and 3-7 in the GAC standings. SE will be looking to get back to winning ways this week after seeing three-straight defeats.
 
SE enters Thursday eighth in the GAC in scoring offense, averaging 72.8 points per game. The blue and gold are led by two players in double-figure points, with Chandler Dickinson leading the way with 13.8 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting from the field. The Rockwall, Texas native recently saw a ten-game streak with double-digit points snapped at ATU after recording seven points. Ethan Wilkerson rounds out the scoring for the Storm with 12.8 points per game and is converting 52.3 percent of his shots from the floor this season.
 
Against the Wonder Boys, 12 of the team's 18 baskets came from the three-point line, as Ethan Scott knocked down a team-high four in the game on his way to 14 points. The redshirt-junior leads Southeastern in three-point shooting this season with 34 triples on 38.3 percent shooting. Scott ranks third in the GAC with 2.4 treys per game and has reached four or more in six games. As a team, the blue and gold are tied for the second-best three-point percentage (34.3) in the GAC and are averaging a league-best 9.1 treys per game.
 
The Storm is led at the glass by Wilkerson, who is tied for 11^th in the conference with 5.8 rebounds after recently recording four against ATU. Southeastern sits ninth in rebounding in the conference rankings with 32.6 per game and is seeing the seventh-most offensive rebounds with 10.1. However, opponents have been able to find success at the glass against the Storm, as the blue and gold have a -2.8 rebound margin.
 
SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
East Central faced Arkansas Tech and Harding last week and went 0-2 on the road, falling to 2-8 in GAC play and 7-9 overall. The Tigers return home on a four-game losing streak that includes two buzzer-beater defeats to Arkansas-Monticello and, most recently, Arkansas Tech. This season, six of the Tigers' eight conference losses have been decided by an average of four points, and three have been one-possession games.
 
ECU features the top facilitator in Division II, as Jaden Miller leads the nation with 8.3 assists per game and has totaled 133. The Tigers as a team are seeing 16.1 assists per game to lead the GAC and had 33 across their two games last week. In addition to picking out a pass, Miller is averaging 9.9 points per game, while Rustin Coffey leads the side with 12.5 points per game. Coffey is the team's top knock-down shooter with 27 triples on 35.1 percent shooting.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
The Rangers are 7-9 overall and 4-6, closing in on the halfway point of the season after earning back-to-back wins on the road last week. NWOSU began the week with a 64-59 win over UAM and followed up with a 69-64 win against Southern Arkansas. Those wins marked the first victories on the road this season for Northwestern, while the Rangers are 4-3 when playing at home.
 
NWOSU is led by the reigning GAC Offensive Player of the Week, Max Alexander, who totaled 59 points in the two wins. Alexander leads the team and conference in scoring with 22.1 points per game and is second on the team in assists with 41. The Rangers have two more players scoring in double-figures, including Robbie Armbrester with 13.9 points per game on 68.6 percent shooting from the floor. Armbrester also paces the side at the glass with 7.0 rebounds per game.