Box Score
Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – It's a scene that has become all too familiar for SWOSU men's basketball coach
Bob Battisti. His Bulldog squad built a 20-point deficit in the first half against Southern Arkansas – the fourth consecutive game trailing by double figures in the opening period – before outscoring the Muleriders 51-24 after the break to claim a 72-63 victory on Thursday night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
Offensively, the Bulldogs were dreadful in the first half, connecting on just eight field-goal attempts, two of which were from 3-point range. They faced their largest deficit of 20 points, 39-19, late in the first half before
Ante Bozic hit a basket with 24 seconds left to send SWOSU in the locker room trailing 39-21.
Business picked up early in the second half as
Kenyan Borders and
Trent Washington combined to hit four 3-pointers in a 14-6 run to start the half and get the Dawgs within 10 at the first media timeout. The SWOSU defense held Southern Arkansas to just six points in the opening 11 minutes of the second half, which allowed the Bulldogs to take their first lead of the half on a
Rod Camphor basket at the 9:34 mark.
Jeffrey Walker of Southern Arkansas tied the game at 47-47 with 8:34 to play but
Trent Washington hit a three on the ensuing Bulldog possession to give SWOSU the lead for good. The Dawgs would briefly push the lead to double figures and held on with free throws to earn the come-from-behind win, their seventh win in the past eight games.
The SWOSU starting lineup of Borders, Washington, Camphor,
Gary Inglett &
Michael Bradley combined to score 68 of the team's 72 points as the Bulldogs bench was outscored 43-4 by the SAU reserves. Borders led the way with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and Camphor was close behind with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Washington hit 5-of-18 shots to finish with 14 points and Bradley came up just short of a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Inglett was the second Bulldog to secure a double-double as he scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, helping SWOSU to a 47-43 advantage on the glass.
"In the first half, we shot the ball poorly and no team can get away with that," Battisti said following the win. "We guarded well and played good basketball but just didn't hit shots. In the second half, we were able to get things turned around, hit some of those open looks and that allowed us to get back in the game."
The victory improves the Bulldogs record to 12-5 on the year, matching their win total from the entire 2012-13 season. They also improve to 9-2 in Great American Conference play and stay two games in front of the field after East Central suffered their fourth conference defeat of the season. SWOSU will host Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday afternoon at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center, tipping off at 4 pm.
