Setting the Stage
The Bulldog basketball team is two games away from making the turn in the conference season and a team closing in on SWOSU in the standings is the opponent on Thursday night. SWOSU will visit longtime rival and recent GAC-foe Southern Nazarene for a 7:30 pm showdown at the Sawyer Center in Bethany.
SWOSU comes in winners of five straight games and atop the GAC standings while Southern Nazarene is tied for second place, two games behind the Bulldogs in the loss column. SNU defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State 84-51 last Saturday after suffering a tough overtime defeat against East Central on Thursday. SNU is 5-3 at home this season, but two of those losses have come during conference play.
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 419-300.
Adam Bohac is in his sixth season at the helm of the Crimson Storm men's basketball program and he's guided SNU through the transition to NCAA Division II and the Great American Conference. He has led the Storm to three NAIA National Tournaments and owns a record of 119-58, becoming the fastest coach in school history to reach 100 wins last season.
Last Time Out
Trailing 23-5 less than eight minutes into the game, it did not appear that the SWOSU men's basketball team was going to close out Rankin Williams Fieldhouse in ideal fashion. The Bulldogs, however, continued to scrap and managed to overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat Ouachita Baptist 72-68.
Michael Bradley and
Gary Inglett each scored 22 points in the victory but it took a team effort at both ends of the floor for the Bulldogs to get back within striking distance. OBU connected on 6-of-13 three pointers in the first half to build their lead, but the Bulldogs defense clamped down after the break, holding the Tigers to 24 points on 7-of-21 shooting.
The Bulldogs trailed 44-30 at the break and OBU quickly made it a 16-point game before the SWOSU comeback began with a
Kenyan Borders three-pointer. A 9-0 run, highlighted by a tip dunk from Inglett and a three from
Trent Washington got SWOSU within three at 50-47 with just over 14 minutes to play.
SWOSU finally took the lead after Inglett and
Rod Camphor connected on four straight free throws around the eight-minute mark. The teams went back-and-forth over the next few possessions before an 8-0 run erased turned a one-point deficit into a 68-61 lead with 3:04 to play. OBU continued to battle, cutting the lead to one in the final minute before Bradley and
Kenyan Borders hit 3-of-4 free throws to salt the game away.
Last Time vs. Southern Nazarene (January 24, 2013)
The Southwestern Oklahoma State men's basketball team came up just short in a comeback attempt against Southern Nazarene on Thursday (Jan. 24), dropping a 67-63 contest to the Crimson Storm. The loss drops SWOSU to 7-9 on the year and 6-4 in the Great American Conference.
SWOSU came out of the gates quickly, building a 10 point lead of 17-7 on a
Dominick Cornelius 3-pointer with 14:47 to play in the first half. Southern Nazarene slowly closed the gap before finishing the half on a 19-8 run and building a 39-32 lead at the break.
The Crimson Storm kept the Dawgs at bay in the second half, allowing SWOSU to tie the game twice but never relinquishing the lead. A pair of free throws from
Thomas Davis tied the game at 61-61 with just under three minutes to play, but SNU ended the second half strongly as well, going on a 6-2 run in the final 2:42 to pull out the victory.
Cornelius had a big game for the Dawgs, scoring 21 points and pulling down eight rebounds in the setback. Davis added 16 points while
Ryan Donahoe had three points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Four players scored in double figures for SNU, led by Quan Conner and Tyrone Lyons with 17 points apiece.
Checking the Standings
Winners of five straight, the Bulldogs now have a two-game lead in the loss column over each every other team in the Great American Conference. At 7-1, SWOSU is the only team with a single conference loss while East Central, Harding, Southern Nazarene and Arkansas Tech are not far behind as all have dropped three conference games. Thursday night's game will be the first between SWOSU and Southern Nazarene this season after the first game, slated for December 5th, was postponed until February 25 at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
Going for Six
With Saturday's win over Ouachita Baptist, SWOSU improved to 7-1 in GAC play and strengthened their grip on the top spot in the standings. The victory was also the fifth straight for the Bulldogs, giving them their longest winning streak since early in the 2010-11 season when SWOSU won six straight games from November 11 - December 2.
Scouting the Opponent
Winners of three of their last four games, Southern Nazarene has remained a prominent player in the Great American Conference race this season, their final one transition year before becoming a full member of NCAA Division II and the GAC. The Crimson Storm will present a unique challenge for the Bulldogs since their statistical strengths are the weaknesses of SWOSU and vice versa.
SNU is scoring 78.9 points per game to lead the GAC, led by the top two scorers in the conference: CJ Smith (21.0 ppg) and Quan Conner (19.4 ppg). The Bulldogs counter with the top scoring defense in the conference as they hold opponents to an average of 67.4 points per game. SWOSU's offense, which is ranked ninth in the GAC with an average of 70.2 points per game, will be opposed by a Crimson Storm defense rated last in the conference by allowing 77.4 points per game.
Quick Hits
- With a total of 133 turnovers in 14 games this season, SWOSU has committed the second-fewest turnovers in NCAA Division II this season. Lewis University has committed 120 turnovers this season, also in 14 games
- A 22-point performance on Saturday gave
Gary Inglett a total of 224 points scored on the season, one more than
Rod Camphor for the team lead this season
- SWOSU and Southern Nazarene split the season series last year, with each team winning on the road
- SWOSU carries an unblemished 6-0 record on the road into Thursday's game, including a 4-0 conference road record
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Gary Inglett has played 30+ minutes in 13 of 14 games this season for the Bulldogs
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Kenyan Borders has hit a 3-pointer in seven straight games, connecting on 12-of-21 (57.1%) attempts during that span
- During conference play, the Bulldogs are shooting 40.3% from the field and 35.3% from 3-point range
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Trent Washington has come off the bench during SWOSU's five-game winning streak, but he is still playing an average of 29.8 minutes per game
- The Bulldogs have hit at least 60% of their free throws in every game this season except the opener against Midwestern State
Looking Ahead
SWOSU returns home on Saturday to debut the Pioneer Cellular Event Center against rival Northwestern Oklahoma State. Admission is free to the game, which is slated to tip at 7:30 pm.
