SHAWNEE, Okla. – The UAM men's basketball team travels to Shawnee, Oklahoma for the 2024 Great American Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday at Firelake Arena.
UAM will face Southern Nazarene in the first game of the second day of the tournament with tip set for around 12:00 p.m. CT. The tournament is set to be live streamed on the Great American Conference website, but Boll Weevil fans can also listen to the game live at 93.7 KHBM. Long-time announcer Jimmy Sledge will be on site for UAM, live-calling the game.
"We are excited about making the conference, with that being one of our goals coming in to the season," said UAM's third-year head coach Chad Tapp. "I'm probably more excited about the improvement we made through the course of the season. This has been a group that likes to be in the gym and enjoys competing together. That's a big reason for the turnaround in our season."
Going into the tournament, Arkansas-Monticello will be taking on Southern Nazarene. The teams split the season, with UAM winning the first match-up, 64-52, at home on Jan. 20, but saw SNU reign victorious in a 57-54 road loss on Feb. 22.
The teams have met only one time in the Great American Conference Tournament, with the Crimson Storm holding the overall advantage after a 62-57 victory over the Boll Weevils in the finals of the 2018 Finals.
Following the GAC Basketball Championship Awards Ceremony in Shawnee, Oklahoma on Wednesday night, the team saw six All-Great American Conference selections for the 2023-24 season.
Junior guard Isaac Jackson grabbed an All-GAC first team selection and junior guard Zane Nelson was selected as the GAC Newcomer of the Year, as well as earning All-GAC second team honors.
Four Weevils earned Distinguished Scholar Athlete awards, including senior guard Donovan Cooper, junior guard/forward Wesley Booker, junior guard/forward Josh Denton, and junior center Timur Krupalija.
The winner of Friday's game would advance to face the winner of Thursday night's quarterfinals match-up between the No. 1 seed Southeastern Oklahoma and No. 8 seed Southern Arkansas.
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