SE Returns to Bloomer to Face East Central and No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist

DURANT, Okla. – After back-to-back road games in the Natural State, the Southeastern men's basketball program returns home to face rivals East Central on Thursday and No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday.
 
The Savage Storm and Tigers are slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in Bloomer Sullivan Arena on Thursday, Feb. 12, before the nationally ranked Bison come to Durant on Saturday, Feb. 14, for a 3 p.m. contest.
 
SERIES NOTES

• Thursday's rivalry contest between the Storm and Tigers will be the 194^th meeting, and Southeastern holds a one-game edge in the series, 97-96. ECU won the first meeting this season to snap SE's four-game win streak over the Tigers, and the defeat marked the first for the blue and gold since the 2022-23 season.
• The Bison have had the Storm's number as of late, with four wins in the last four meetings. The recent success by Oklahoma Baptist seen the two sides split the last ten contests 5-to-5. SE still holds the edge in the all-time series 107-63 heading into the 171^st meeting.

 
STORM REPORT
Southeastern (5-16, 4-11 GAC) will be looking to get back in the win column after going 0-2 in its final Arkansas road trip. The Storm suffered a 70-62 defeat to Arkansas-Monticello in the first leg of the trip before seeing an 83-79 overtime loss to Southern Arkansas. With seven games remaining, SE sits two games outside the top eight in the GAC standings, while Ouachita Baptist and Oklahoma Baptist were the first teams to lock a spot at the conference tournament.
 
Chandler Dickinson led the Storm against SAU with 21 points for his fourth game this season with 20 or more points. Dickinson paces the scoring for Southeastern with 13.8 points per game, while shooting 45.1 percent (107-237) from the field. The Rockwall, Texas native is one of two players to start and play every game this season for the blue and gold, and leads the team with 33.6 minutes per game.
 
The Storm enters Thursday ranked as the ninth-best scoring offense in the conference, averaging 70.6 points per game. SE has been one of the best free-throw teams across the GAC, shooting at a 76.3 percent clip from the foul line with 261 made attempts. The blue and gold have four players shooting 80.0 percent or higher from the charity stripe, led by Santiago Camacho Gomez with an 82.4 percent mark.

At the glass, Ethan Wilkerson leads Southeastern with 118 rebounds for 5.6 boards per game, and nine blocks. The sophomore from Madill, Okla., has recorded 24 rebounds in his last four games, including eight against the Muleriders. In addition to his strong presence at the glass, Wilkerson is the Storm's second-highest scorer this season with 12.4 points per game on 50.5 percent shooting from the field.
 
SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
East Central went 2-0 on its trips to SAU and UAM and has now won four of its last five games, sitting at 11-10 overall and 6-9 in the GAC. The Tigers pulled off a buzzer-beater to defeat Southern Arkansas 59-58 and ran away from Boll Weevils for a 75-65 win.
 
ECU is one of the top shooting teams in the conference, as they rank first in field goal percentage (48.0) and fourth in three-point shooting (33.9). The Tigers' top scorer, Rustin Coffey, is averaging 12.4 points per game and leads the team with 35 triples on 36.1 percent shooting. Brandon Mann joins Coffey in double-figure points, with 11.9 per game, and leads the team with a 61.4 percent shooting mark from the field, which ranks fifth in the GAC. Pulling the strings for the efficient Tiger offense is Jaden Miller, with a Division II-best 176 assists.
 
SCOUTING NO. 9 OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist is one of two teams to clinch a spot in the 2025-26 GAC Tournament after extending its win streak to ten games with its recent win at Arkansas Tech. The Bison boast a 19-2 overall record and a 13-2 conference mark, with its only defeats coming on the road at SAU and ECU. 
 
The Bison are led by four-time GAC Player of the Week winner Terry Coner Jr., who is second in the conference in scoring with 20.4 points per game and fifth in assists with 3.5 per contest. Coner Jr. has scored 20 or more points in eight of the last games, including 20 against Harding and 23 versus Arkansas Tech most recently. As a team, the Bison lead the conference in scoring offense with 79.0 points per game and are second in field goal percentage with a 46.9 percent clip.