RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Tech men's and women's basketball teams will hit the road for their final Oklahoma trek of the regular season, With East Central serving as hosts in 5:30 and 7:30 tipoffs in Thursday's Great American Conference doubleheader.

The No. 20 Golden Suns (19-3, 14-2 GAC) and Tigers (14-8, 10-6 GAC) met up in a classic earlier this season, with Tech overcoming a halftime deficit to force overtime on a pair of Fatima Adams free throws with four seconds left in regulation. In the extra session, the Golden Suns outscored ECU 18-6 to pull away with an 84-72 victory and remain undefeated in conference play at that point. Adams led all scorers with 26 points, and pulled in an incredible 22 rebounds in the game to go along with four assists, two blocks and a steal. Fabiana Monte added 15 points, Anissa Pounds 14 points and four boards, and Katrina Hayden 11 points, four assists and three steals.

The victory increased Tech's lead in the all-time series to 10-6, and it has now won five of seven games in GAC play, although the Tigers have grabbed two of three on their home court. That home advantage shows itself this season, as ECU is 8-1 in the friendly confines of the Kerr Activities Center, winning four straight. Overall, the Tigers have dropped three of their last five, including a 58-38 loss at Southern Arkansas last Thursday, and a 48-45 defeat at the hands of Ouachita Baptist Saturday. Even with those losses, they bring the league's top scoring defense into Thursday's game, allowing just 59.6 points per game to opponents.

Dilan Webster leads the Tigers with 14.1 points per game, also grabbing 5.7 rebounds and blocking 1.45 shots a game. Taylor Fischer puts up 11.4 points and Erin Walling adds 10.4 points and 3.4 assists per game, while Ashleigh Kelman-Poto adds 9.7 points and 5.1 boards, but went for 23 and nine against the Golden Suns last month. Tech counters with the GAC's top offense, scoring 76.0 points per game, with Adams still second in the league and sixth in the country averaging 21.4 points, while also pulling down 9.6 rebounds a game. Pounds adds 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while Katrina Hayden provides 9.7 points and 3.9 assists to help the Golden Suns offense churn.

The Wonder Boys (12-12, 8-8 GAC) are on a three-game winning streak after last weekend's sweep of Northwestern Oklahoma and Southern Nazarene, tied for their longest run of the season and the longest conference win streak since they twice ran off five in a row in the second half of last season. Tech suffered a tough 70-68 loss at the hands of the Tigers (16-8, 10-6 GAC) Jan. 17 at Tucker Coliseum, as the Wonder Boys clawed back from a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead on a Jay Murphy free throw with seven seconds left, only to see ECU hit a jumper on the other end in the closing seconds to take the win. The win cut into Tech's lead in the all-time series to make it 13-9. The Wonder Boys still hold a 5-2 advantage in GAC play, including wins all three times they played in Oklahoma.

The Tigers are 4-3 since the win over Tech last month, including a 19-point loss to league-leading Ouachita Baptist Saturday. That ECU is one of the top teams in the GAC shows up in statistics as well, with the Tigers top three in the league in categories like scoring offense (78.1), scoring margin (7.0), field goal percentage (46.9) 3-pointers per game (9.0) and assists (14.4). They feature the conference's top scorer in Stirling Thomas, who averages 20.0 points per game but was held to 14 in the two team's first meeting. Henry Pwono chips in with 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while Braxton Reeves adds 14.1 points on 43.8 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Mike Balogun, who poured in 23 in the first meeting against the Tigers and is the reigning GAC Player of the Week, leads the Wonder Boys with 14.8 points per game, while four others put up 8.3 points per game or better. Clarence Willard adds 9.5 points and a team-high 3.6 assists, while D.J. Jethroe puts up 8.8 points and a team-best 5.0 rebounds. Seven Wonder Boys average 3.0 boards or better per game. Balogun's run over the last three games has been impressive, averaging 20.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game, all while shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 56.5 percent from 3-point range and 69.2 percent from the line.

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

                                                                                                             -FIGHTON-