SE Faces No. 25 Ouachita Baptist Thursday, Henderson State Saturday

DURANT, Okla. – The Southeastern men's basketball program returns home to host No. 25 Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State. The Savage Storm meets the Tigers first on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7:30 p.m. before facing the Reddies on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
SERIES NOTES

• SE and OBU met earlier this year in Arkadelphia for game one, and the Tigers would get the upper hand, 69-52. Following the defeat, the blue and gold hold a three-game edge in the all-time series 16-13, but have lost two straight to the Tigers. Southeastern has been at its best at home against Ouachita, having won six straight games when hosting OBU.  
• The Storm picked up their first win over Henderson State on the road since 2019 earlier this year, 74-70, after a 19-point second half from Deondre Dunn. Despite trailing 23-13 in the all-time series, this matchup is one that favors the home team, as the Storm is 9-3 against the Reddies in the last 11 games inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena.

 
STORM NOTES
Southeastern completed a three-game road stretch at rivals East Central last Thursday in an 84-64 defeat. The Storm enters the week looking to get back in the win column after seeing four-straight losses, as they sit 4-13 overall and 3-8 in the GAC. Ahead of back-to-back home games, the blue and gold hold a 2-4 record inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena this season with wins over Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Arkansas.
 
The Storm are averaging 72.0 points per game with two players scoring in double-figures. Chandler Dickinson leads the scoring with 13.5 points per game, while Ethan Wilkerson is seeing 12.2 per contest on 51.9 percent shooting from the floor. Both Dickinson and Wilkerson have eclipsed their season-high total points scored and have also surpassed their season-best field goals made with 85 and 82, respectively.
 
Tyler Long reached double-digit points for the second time this season on Thursday against ECU, scoring ten on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. The Ponder, Texas, native got his sixth start of the year versus the Tigers and his first start since December 13 at Oklahoma Baptist. Long has featured in 14 games this season and is averaging 3.9 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting from the field.
 
SE remains one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, averaging a conference-best 9.2 triples per game on 34.5 percent shooting. The three-point shooting efforts are led by Ethan Scott and Deondre Dunn. Scott has totaled 36 treys on 38.7 percent shooting, while Dunn has knocked down 27 triples on a league-best 41.5 percent shooting mark. Scott leads the team in total triples and ranks third in the GAC with 2.4 treys per game.
 
SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST
No. 25 Ouachita Baptist recently broke into the rankings for the first time since 2009 after earning a 90-60 win over Henderson State. The Tigers top the GAC standings with a 10-1 record following their victory and improved to 14-3 overall. The lone conference loss for OBU came at the hands of Oklahoma Baptist in a 67-63 game that snapped an eight-game win streak for Ouachita.
 
The Tigers lean on their defense, as they lead the GAC in scoring defense and rank third in Division II with 60.3 points allowed per game. In its last ten games, Ouachita has held six teams to under 60 points, and has allowed 65 or more points only three times this season. Christian Parker and Jaxon Conley help lead the Tiger defense, as Parker paces the league with 2.5 blocked shots per game and Conley leads the conference with 42 steals.
 
SCOUTING HEDNERSON STATE
The Reddies (8-9, 5-6 GAC) have lost three in a row entering this week, with all three defeats coming to either a ranked team or one receiving votes. HSU came up short to then-No. 14 Southern Nazarene in three overtime periods before seeing losses in back-to-back games to (RV) Oklahoma Baptist and (RV) Ouachita.
 
Henderson State boasts one of the top-scoring offenses in the GAC with 75.6 points per game and is led by Javeion Okoh with 15.2 points per contest. Xavier Owens (12.6) joins Okoh in double-figure points and is one of the team's top shooters, converting 51.0 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from the three-point line. Owens also helps lead the team at the glass with 5.1 boards per game, while Tyson Whybrew paces the team with 6.1 rebounds.