Game Notes

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The No. 23 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team will return to action this week, heading to Oklahoma for a pair of Great American Conference games. The Golden Suns will face off against Southeastern Oklahoma on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Durant before facing off against East Central on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ada. 

THE SAVAGE STORM SERIES
This meeting with Southeastern Oklahoma marks the 16th meeting all-time between the two schools. The two teams played just four times prior to the formation of the GAC, splitting all four meetings. Since then, Tech holds an 8-3 advantage. The Savage Storm has done its best work against Tech in Durant, winning two straight games there - a 67-63 decision in 2014 and an 80-68 game last season. Tech's last win in Durant came in 2012, when the Golden Suns won an 80-48 contest in Durant.

THE EAST CENTRAL SERIES
Tech and ECU have faced off seventeen times in a series dating back to the 1986 season with Tech holding a 10-7 advantage. Since the formation of the GAC, the series is more even - Tech holds a 5-4 advantage in the series. ECU has won two of the last three meetings, with Tech's win being an 84-72 overtime victory in Russellville. The Golden Suns' last win in Ada came in the 1999-2000 season - when the Golden Suns edged the Tigers 55-53.

SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM
Southeastern Oklahoma enters Thursday night's game with a 3-7 record, including a 1-3 mark in GAC play. After losing the first four games of the season, Southeastern got into the win column with a big 102-33 win over Bacone on November 24. December saw the fortunes turn for Southeastern, as the Savage Storm posted a 2-2 mark during the month, including its lone GAC win - a 72-66 victory over Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia. Southeastern's last matchup before the holiday break saw the Savage Storm travel west to Lawton and drop an 80-77 decision to Cameron. A pair of double-digit scorers have paced the Southeastern offense, as Olivia Potter (14.3 ppg) and Kaylie Baxter (11.0 ppg) have led the Southeastern attack. Southeastern finds itself relatively even statistically with its opponents this season except for one category - free-throw shooting percentage. The Savage Storm are shooting nearly 76 percent from the charity stripe - leading the GAC - while opponents have managed just 65.6 percent.

STANDARD OF CARE
Both Arkansas Tech and Southeastern have had great success taking care of the basketball this season - the two teams lead the GAC in turnover margin. Southeastern Oklahoma is at +3.60 per game while the Golden Suns are at +3.25. 

CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS
The key to Southeastern's success from the free-throw line has been the play of Baxter and Taylor Richards. Richards is tied with Tech's Anissa Pounds for the lead in free-throw percentage - Richards is a perfect 21-of-21 from the stripe this season (Pounds is 16-for-16), while Baxter is 20-for-21 from the line. 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
East Central opens the weekend at 1-7 on the season, with a 1-3 record in GAC play. The Tigers' lone win of the season came back on Nov. 21, when the Tigers downed UAM 66-56 in Ada. The road has been rough for the Tigers since, as ECU has dropped five straight entering Thursday night's game against Harding. ECU is led offensively by Alexa Adair, averaging 15.6 points per game. Whitney Stotler averages 9.9 points and a team-best 6.5 boards to lead the Tigers' rebounding effort. 

DEFENSIVE PROWESS
ECU has been one of the better teams in the GAC in keeping teams off the scoreboard - ECU's 65.0 points allowed per game are the second-best mark in the GAC - presenting an interesting matchup with the Arkansas Tech offense, which has been the most prolific in the GAC thus far this season at 83.4 points per game. 

THREE POINT PLAY
ECU is tied with Harding for the best 3-point shooting attack in the GAC, averaging 8.1 buckets from long-range each game.

BROADCAST
The games will be broadcast live on 102.3-FM (KCJC) in Russellville. Sam Strasner (play-by-play) and Kelly Davis (commentary) will be on the call. Live stats and video for both games are also available at www.arkansastechsports.com.