Setting the Stage
Saturday afternoon offers a chance for the SWOSU basketball team to regroup after their first conference loss to Harding and avenge a loss to Arkansas Tech in the Great American Conference tournament from last season. The Wonder Boys ended SWOSU's 2012-13 season with a 56-51 victory in the GAC semifinals last March in Bartlesville.
SWOSU suffer their first conference defeat on Thursday, falling to Harding by an 89-65 margin. Arkansas Tech knocked off Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday to improve to 7-4 on the year and 2-1 in 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 414-300.
Doug Karleskint is in his fourth season as the head coach at Arkansas Tech after serving as the lead assistant at ATU for one year. He has a record of 75-28 to date, which includes two trips to the NCAA Division II national tournament.
Last Time Out
The SWOSU men's basketball team allowed a season-high 13 three-point field goals to Harding on Thursday and suffered an 89-65 defeat, their first in Great American Conference action this season.
Six players from Harding connected from long range, including Tony Cochran who finished 5-of-5 from three and scored 19 points. Hayden Johnson scored a game-high 26 for the Bisons and Jacob Gibson chipped in 14 in the effort.
Rod Camphor led the way for SWOSU, scoring 20 points off 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 mark from the stripe.
Michael Bradley was the only other Bulldog to reach double digits as he finished with 12 points.
Gary Inglett was held to a season-low nine points, marking the first time this season he didn't reach double figures.
Last Time vs. Arkansas Tech (March 9, 2013)
The 2012-13 season for the Southwestern Oklahoma State University men's basketball team came to a close on Saturday evening with a 56-51 GAC Semifinal loss to No. 2 seed Arkansas Tech. The Bulldogs finish the season with a 12-16 record.
The game was very physical throughout with both teams fighting to advance to the tournament championship game. SWOSU also had to battle foul trouble, forcing the Bulldogs to go deeper into the rotation with 12 players seeing at least three minutes of action.
Thomas Davis led the Bulldogs with 13 points and eight rebounds, while
Dominick Cornelius put in 11 points and five rebounds.
Marin Zelalija hit two 3-pointers in his final game and
Ryan Donahoe finished the game with eight points, four assists, two rebounds and one blocked shot in a team-high 34 minutes of action.
Rod Camphor followed up his career-high 36-point performance on Friday with the first, and only, double-double of the season for the Bulldogs, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with three assists.
Checking the Standings
Losses by SWOSU and Southeastern on Thursday night mean that every team in the Great American Conference has suffered a conference defeat. SWOSU, Arkansas Tech and Southeastern are all tied for third at 2-1, one-half game between Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Nazarene at 3-1. In total, seven teams in the conference have a record of .500 or above.
Big Shot Rod
After being held to 12 points or less during the Bulldogs' first three games, senior guard
Rod Camphor has emerged as SWOSU's top scoring threat over the past six games. Camphor has scored in double figures during every game this season, including four 20-point performances in the past six games. His scoring average of 17.0 points per game leads the team and ranks him fourth in the Great American Conference.
On Monday against Hillsdale Baptist, Camphor recorded his second career double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in SWOSU's 106-86 victory. His other double-double came in the Bulldogs last meeting with Arkansas Tech as he scored 11 points and recorded 10 rebounds in the GAC tournament semifinals.
Scouting the Opponent
Arkansas Tech was the preseason favorite to win the Great American Conference after claiming a conference co-championship last season. The Wonder Boys have played a challenging non-conference schedule, suffering losses to Mid-America Christian, Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist while picking up wins over Angelo State, Midwestern State, Northeastern State and Lincoln.
Derrick Little leads the Wonder Boys offense, which averages 78.7 points per game, as he scores 12.3 points per contest while Bobby Hatchett (10.8) and Willie Rogers (10.4) also average double figures. ATU is also the GAC's top rebounding team, outrebounding their opponents by 5.2 per game, and they are holding opponents to 38.8% field goal shooting.
Pioneer Cellular Event Center Update
It was announced on December 20 that the first event in the new Pioneer Cellular Event Center (PCEC) 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 PCEC on Saturday, January 25, when Northwestern Oklahoma State University comes to Weatherford for a 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. doubleheader.
Quick Hits
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Gary Inglett was held to a season-low nine points against Harding, marking the first time this season he did not score in double figures
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Trent Washington has hit at least one three pointer in each game this season
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Jordan Franz is 4-for-10 from 3-point range in the last two games after starting the season 1-for-10 from long range
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Ante Bozic made his first start of the season against Harding in place of
Michael Bradley. Bozic finished with three points and two rebounds while Bradley came off the bench to score 12 points.
Looking Ahead
The Bulldogs make in-state trips to Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central next week as they continue Great American Conference action.
