Setting the Stage
The top two teams in the Great American Conference standings will collide at Kerr Activities Center in Ada, Okla., on Saturday when SWOSU takes on East Central. The Bulldogs needed a late basket from
Gary Inglett to defeat Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday while ECU downed Northwestern Oklahoma State 76-59 to improve to 8-5 on the year.
East Central opened the season 0-2 playing at the SWOSU Classic back in November, but the Tigers have won six of their last seven games to improve to 8-5 on the year. At 5-2 in conference action, ECU is alone in second place in the GAC and they've only been beaten once on their home court this season.
The Coaches
Bob Battisti is the 14th head men's basketball coach in SWOSU history and in his first season on the Bulldogs sidelines. He most recently spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian University where he helped the program its first postseason basketball title in 30 years. Prior to his stint at OCU, Battisti spent 25 years at Northwestern Oklahoma State, coaching the men's basketball team for 21 seasons before taking over as the school's athletic director for four years. In more than 24 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 416-300.
Ja Havens is in his first year as the head coach at East Central after spending the last eight years as the assistant basketball coach at Drury University, which claimed the 2013 NCAA DII National Championship. He helped the Panthers to five Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division Championships and two tournament championships.
Last Time Out
A bucket from
Gary Inglett with 1.6 seconds remaining helped SWOSU pick up their third straight GAC road victory as the Bulldogs defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State 72-70 at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and they went to the halftime break behind 36-28 as Southeastern knocked down 6-of-12 three pointers in the opening half. Southeastern's lead was seven, 48-41, with 14:00 minutes to play when
Trent Washington and Inglett combined to hit five straight threes in a 15-0 run that spanned just over three minutes of play.
That lead held up for SWOSU until the 2:07 mark when Southeastern tied the game at 68-68 on a triple from Quinton Threadgill, but Inglett put SWOSU back on top with a layup at the 1:42 mark. Following a SWOSU turnover,
Rod Camphor fouled Darius Harris on a breakaway, forcing Harris to make two free throws to tie the game at 70-70 with 13 seconds remaining.
Kenyan Borders penetrated and found Inglett on the final possession and the junior from Ardmore laid the ball in with 1.6 seconds to play to put SWOSU on top 72-70. A final heave from Southeastern was off course, allowing the Bulldogs to earn their seventh victory in the last nine games.
Washington scored a season-best 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, which included six three-pointers. Inglett turned in another double-double, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Camphor scored 13 points to extend his streak of double figures scoring efforts.
Last Time vs. East Central (February 14, 2013)
The Southwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit in the first half, but the Bulldogs were unable to do the same in the second half as they fell to East Central 72-61 on Thursday night (Feb. 14) in Ada.
East Central built an 11-point lead in the first half at 27-16 but
Rod Camphor led a surge by SWOSU that ended up with the Bulldogs taking a 30-29 lead at the break. A
Marin Zelalija three pointer early in the second half gave SWOSU a 37-33 advantage, but from then on East Central controlled the remainder of the game.
SWOSU was led by
Thomas Davis, who scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench. Three other players,
Ryan Donahoe, Zelalija and Camphor, reached double figures for the Bulldogs, who connected on 42.0% (21-of-50) of their field goal attempts. SWOSU was held to season lows in both three pointers made (3) and attempted (10) and got outrebounded 43-30 by the Tigers.
Checking the Standings
Thursday's win over Southeastern, coupled with Southern Nazarene's victory over Arkansas-Monticello, leaves SWOSU as the only team in the Great American Conference with just one conference loss. East Central is right behind at 5-2, followed by UAM and Southern Nazarene at 4-2. Arkansas Tech and Harding for fifth place at 3-2, giving the GAC six teams with a conference record above .500.
Scouting the Opponent
East Central has already matched their conference win total from the 2012-13 season after picking up their fifth GAC victory against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday. The Tigers are putting up 77.8 points per game to rank third in the GAC while surrendering 70.5 points to their opponents each game.
Colby Carr leads East Central by scoring an average of 15.9 points per game while Brandon Lucas and A.J. Moutry also average in excess of 12.5 points per contest. Moutry has connected on 33 three pointers this season for an average of 2.5 per game, ranking third in the GAC. As a team, ECU has connected on 96-of-281 (34.2%) three pointers this season.
Pioneer Cellular Event Center Update
It was announced on December 20 that the first event in the new Pioneer Cellular Event Center on the campus of Southwestern Oklahoma State University will be January 20 when the West Central Basketball Tournament takes place throughout the week on the Weatherford campus.
SWOSU's men's and women's basketball teams will play their opening games in the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday, January 25, when Northwestern Oklahoma State University comes to Weatherford for a 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. doubleheader.
Quick Hits
-
Trent Washington now ranks second in the GAC in three pointers made with an average of 2.5 per game
- Washington is averaging 15.0 points per game since becoming the team's sixth man. His 21 points against Southeastern is the most by a SWOSU reserve this season
-
Gary Inglett has hit 66-of-76 (86.8%) free throws this year to rank second in the GAC
-
Jordan Franz has hit a three pointer in four straight games and he's 3-of-8 in the past two games since joining the starting lineup
- No Bulldog player has fouled out of a game this season
- With 11 turnovers on Thursday, the Bulldogs three-game streak with fewer than 10 turnovers was snapped. SWOSU averages 9.7 turnovers per game, the fewest in the GAC
-
Kenyan Borders has dished out 12 assists in the past four games, giving him a team-best 32 for the season
-
Michael Bradley was held without a field goal for the first time this season at Southeastern, but he hit 5-of-6 free throws. He has now connected on 16-of-19 free throws in the last four games
Looking Ahead
Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist will come to Weatherford next weekend, starting a stretch where SWOSU will play five of their next six games at home.
