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Arkansas-Monticello (14-6, 7-5 GAC) at SWOSU (12-5, 9-2 GAC) Saturday, February 1, 4:00 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio Social: @SWOSUAthletics or Tweet #BulldogPride SWOSU Game Notes

 
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 421-301.
      Allen Sharpe is in his fourth season as the head men's basketball coach at Arkansas-Monticello following a five-year stint as the head coach at Wallace State Community College in Alabama, where he led his teams to an average of 30 wins per year. In his time at UAM, Sharpe has a record of 65-39.
 
Last Time Out
      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.
 
Last Time vs. Arkansas-Monticello (November 21, 2013)
      Rod Camphor, Trent Washington and Gary Inglett combined for 54 of SWOSU's 74 points, leading the Bulldogs to a 74-65 win at Arkansas-Monticello in the team's Great American Conference opener on Thursday night.
      The Bulldogs scored 32 points in the paint and turned 14 turnovers into 19 points as they evened their record at 2-2 on the year. After falling behind 24-18, SWOSU outscored the Boll Weevils 18-6 over the final nine minutes of the half to take a 36-30 lead to the break.
      SWOSU then opened the second half by scoring nine straight points and 12 of the first 14 to take their largest lead at 48-32 on a three pointer from Washington. The lead would remain in double figures for most of the half with UAM getting no closer than within seven points in the second half.
      Camphor finished with a game-high 21 points after hitting 7-of-13 shots from the field, 2-of-5 from long range, and a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. Washington poured in 19 points after connected on 4-of-6 three pointers and Inglett was just two rebounds shy of his fourth straight double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes of work.
 
Checking the Standings
      SWOSU rebounded slowly Thursday from their first defeat since early January, but rallied for the 72-63 victory over Southern Arkansas. January was moving time for the Bulldogs, who laid claim to the top spot in the standings for the majority of it after winning seven of nine games during the month. Arkansas-Monticello has won two straight games after a stretch that saw them lose three out of four games. The Boll Weevils are tied with Harding for fourth place in the conference with a 7-5 conference mark.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      SWOSU will be faced with another one of the top offensive attacks in the Great American Conference on Saturday when they face an Arkansas-Monticello team averaging 77.4 points per game, third-most in the conference. After falling to the Bulldogs the first time the two teams met, UAM won eight consecutive games -- the longest win streak by a GAC team this season -- before four losses in six games caused them to slip in the standings.
      UAM relies on Brandon Wilson and Jared Harrison for the majority of their scoring, but they have seven different players averaging 6.0 points per game or more. Wilson is the go-to guy for the Boll Weevils and the third-leading scorer in the GAC with an average of 17.8 points per game while also grabbing a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game.
      Rebounding has been a major strength of the Boll Weevils. They average 37.8 rebounds per game, the most in the GAC and their +5.6 rebounding margin is also the best in the conference. UAM has grabbed 267 offensive rebounds (13.4/game) and they are a runaway leader in the category, with Southern Arkansas ranked second with 208.
 
Quick Hits
- Rod Camphor has scored 20 or more points six times this season, the fifth-most among players in the GAC
- Gary Inglett is tied with Colt Fason of Ouachita Baptist with seven double-doubles, the most among conference players
- SWOSU tied a season-high with 10 3-pointers against Southern Arkansas despite hitting just 2-of-21 (9.5%) in the first half
- SWOSU matched their season-low by committing just six turnovers against SAU on Thursday
- The Bulldogs have committed 157 turnovers on the season, the fewest in NCAA Division II, and their average of 9.2 turnovers per game ranks fourth in the country
- Eight blocked shots by SWOSU on Thursday gives the Bulldogs 72 for the season and they now lead the GAC with an average of 4.2 blocks per game
- Three SWOSU players -- Gary Inglett, Rod Camphor & Trent Washington -- are among the top ten in the GAC in minutes played
- Kenyan Borders hit a career-high 5-of-7 3-point field goal attempts against SAU
- Trent Washington played all 40 minutes in his return to the starting lineup on Thursday, scoring 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field
 
Looking Ahead
      The home stretch of GAC play takes the Bulldogs on the road to Arkansas Tech and Harding next weekend. It begins a stretch that will see SWOSU play five of their final eight games away from the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.