MONTICELLO, Ark. - The University of Arkansas at Monticello men's basketball team will close out its home schedule when it hosts East Central University on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. and Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Saturday at 3 p.m. Both games will be played at the Steelman Field House following the women's games.
 
COVERAGE LINKS
UAM GAME NOTES – ECU AND SEOSU
UAM VS. EAST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY – 2/20 – 7:30 P.M. – LIVE STATS, LIVE VIDEO
UAM VS. SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY – 2/22 – 3 P.M. – LIVE STATS, LIVE VIDEO
 
THURSDAY'S GAME DETAILS
Opponent: East Central University Tigers
Date: February 20, 2020
Location: Monticello, Arkansas – Steelman Field House
In-Game Updates: Twitter (@UAMsports)
Last Played: January 11, 2020 in Ada (L, 129-122 3OT)
 
SATURDAY'S GAME DETAILS
Opponent: Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savage Storm
Date: February 22, 2020
Location: Monticello, Arkansas – Steelman Field House
In-Game Updates: Twitter (@UAMsports)
Last Played: January 9, 2020 in Durant (L, 83-78)

SENIOR DAY
Prior to the game, UAM will honor the careers of Marcus Gilbert, Austin Hardy, KJ Lesure, Kwame McBean and Justin Slocum.
 
UAM PRIMER
2019-20 Record: 18-9
2019-20 GAC Record: 10-8
Head Coach: Kyle Tolin, Sixth Season (91-80)
 
SCOUTING THE WEEVILS
Last time out for UAM, they used an impressive second half to cruise to victory over Arkansas Tech on Saturday, 96-76. The Weevils shot 53.5 percent from the field and nailed 12 three's shooting 48.0 percent from downtown.
 
UAM is this week as "revenge week" after falling to both East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State earlier this year. On January 11th, the Weevils fell in triple-overtime on the road at ECU, 129-122, and on January 9th, they fell at SEOSU, 83-78.
 
Both games could have huge GAC Tournament implications as Southeastern may already be in, but the Weevils and Tigers are right next to each other in the standings with four games left on the schedule. The race to get in is pretty chaotic at this point and is too close to call.
 
The Weevils are looking to build off that offensive momentum they built last week and most of the season to propel them to victories this week. UAM enters these games shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from downtown while scoring 84.9 points per game holding opponents to score 76.4 points per contest.
 
UAM is also one of the best rebounding teams in the country averaging 39.8 boards per game which ranks 24th in DII.
 
KJ Lesure still paces the Weevils offensively averaging 18.9 points per game shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from deep. He also is 20th in DII in assists per game averaging 6.0.
 
Marcus Gilbert used a 25-point performance against ATU to bump him second to Lesure in points per game at 14.1.
 
On the glass, Denzel McDuffey snags 8.0 rebounds per contest while Justin Slocum is just behind him averaging 6.8.
 
EAST CENTRAL PRIMER
2019-20 Record: 16-8
2019-20 GAC Record: 10-8
Head Coach: Ja Havens, Seventh Season Overall (130-70)
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
ECU is on a bit of a rough stretch as the season winds down having lost three straight games, most recently, an overtime loss, 99-96, to Oklahoma Baptist.
 
The Tigers are another one of the better offensive teams in the conference similar to UAM as they average 87.3 points per game while surrendering 82.1 points per contest on defense.
 
They have a trio of scorers in Camron Talley, Tylor Arnold and Gerren Jackson.
 
Talley leads the team and is actually one of the best in the conference averaging 21.8 points per game shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from downtown.
 
Arnold averages 11.4 points per game and a lot of that has to do with his impressive field goal percentage of 50.0.
 
Jackson is averaging 10.5 points per game shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from the field.  
SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE PRIMER
2019-20 Record: 19-6
2019-20 GAC Record: 13-5
Head Coach: Kelly Green, Ninth Season Overall (131-122)
 
SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM
As for the Savage Storm, they come in having won two straight and will play a game at Southern Arkansas University on Thursday.
 
Southeastern sits atop the standings currently with an impressive overall record (19-6) and GAC mark (13-5).
 
They are currently carrying a +12.1-scoring margin averaging 82.5 points per game while holding opponents to 70.4 points per game They are also outrebounding opponents by +3.8 averaging 36.8 per game while opponents average 33.0.
 
SEOSU is led by Kevin Buckingham in scoring as he averages 21.2 points per game shooting 58.0 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from downtown. On the glass, he is second on the team in boards averaging 7.5 per game.
 
UP NEXT
The Weevils will play their second-to-last game of their regular season schedule when they travel to Oklahoma Baptist University on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.