RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Tech men's and women's basketball teams are set to return to action Thursday evening, hosting Great American Conference foe Southeastern Oklahoma at Tucker Coliseum.
The No. 9/15 Golden Suns (12-1, 7-0 GAC) open the league doubleheader at 5:30 against the Savage Storm (12-3, 5-2 GAC) in a matchup of two top-four teams in the conference. Southeastern, coming off a narrow nine-point loss to Harding, enters the contest one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, averaging 10.3 triples per game. Olivia Potter is the Storm's sharpshooter, knocking home 50 3-pointers at a 46.3-percent clip so far this season, but five others have made at least 10 shots from beyond the arc, with four shooting 35 percent or better. Emily Williams has made only 15 treys on the year, but leads the team with 17.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, as well as 20 steals, 47 assists and 10 blocks.

Tech will put a four-game winning streak on the line against the Storm after last weekend's sweep in Oklahoma. The Suns have kept their defensive pressure up, holding three of their past four opponents to 57 points or fewer. That's helped push the squad to No. 6 in the country in scoring margin, outscoring foes by an average of 21.0 points per game. Fatima Adams continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 20.9 per game while adding 9.3 assists. Anissa Pounds and Katrina Hayden are also averaging double digits, putting up 12.2 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. Eight players have at least 10 steals on the season, helping Tech to the nation's 12th-best mark at 12.2 swipes per game.

The Golden Suns lead the all-time series against Southeastern 8-4, including a 6-2 mark since the two became GAC opponents and a perfect 4-0 record at Tucker Coliseum.

The Wonder Boys (8-7, 4-3 GAC) follow the women, with tipoff against the Savage Storm (7-8, 3-4 GAC) at 7:30, both teams trying to improve in a wild league slate that has just 3.5 games of separation between first and last place.

Southeastern comes off a four-point victory over Harding Saturday, its third win in five games by four or fewer points. A trio of players in Danny Powell, Taylor Smaller and Sami Bzai are averaging double figures, with Powell leading the way at 15.7 per game. Darius Harris is nearly there at 9.5 points per game, and leads the team with 8.6 rebounds per outing. Harris and frontcourt mate Antonio Worthy combine for 49 blocks on the season, helping boost the Savage Storm to the top blocking team in the GAC at 5.0 per game.

The Wonder Boys saw their four-game conference winning streak snapped at the hands of Southern Nazarene Saturday in a 70-62 loss. They continue to put out a balanced lineup, with four players — Mike Balogun (13.1), Nick Wayman (10.2), D.J. Jethroe (9.5) and Clarence Willard (9.3) — averaging at least nine points per game. Five different players have led the team in scoring in at least one game, with six topping the list in rebounds at least once. Bryson Fletcher, Jay Murphy and Willard all have at least 33 assists on the season, with Wayman adding 21 and Balogun 18. Seven players average at least 3.4 rebounds per game.

It's the eighth meeting as GAC opponents for the Wonder Boys and Savage Storm and 21st overall. Tech has won the past two meetings and five of the seven as conference foes.

The games will be carried live on 100.9 (KWKK) in Russellville, with live video, audio and statistics available at www.arkansastechsports.com.