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SWOSU (6-4, 3-1 GAC) at Southeastern Oklahoma State (4-5, 2-2 GAC) Thursday, January 9, 7:30 pm Durant, Okla. (Bloomer Sullivan Arena) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
      The top eight teams in the Great American Conference all have records of .500 or above and two of them will meet in Durant on Thursday night when SWOSU hits the road to face Southeastern Oklahoma State.
      The Bulldogs rebounded from their first conference loss against Harding last Thursday to defeat Arkansas Tech 63-38 on Saturday, holding the Wonder Boys to a season-low scoring output. Since starting the season 4-0, Southeastern has lost five consecutive games, including conference losses to Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello last weekend.
 
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 415-300.
      Kelly Green took over the reins for the Southeastern Oklahoma State basketball program during the spring of 2011 and he is in his third season leading the Savage Storm after 14 seasons at Arizona Western Community College. Green has a record of 31-34 with Southeastern.
 
Last Time Out
      The Southwestern Oklahoma State University men's basketball team held Arkansas Tech to a season-low 38 points on 24.5% shooting to rebound from a tough defeat Thursday with a 63-38 victory over the Wonder Boys.
      Playing against a zone defense from Arkansas Tech, SWOSU struggled from the outside, converting just 6-of-20 attempts from long range in the game. Timely drives from Rod Camphor, Kenyan Borders and Trent Washington lifted the Bulldogs offense in the second half, leading to a 33-16 scoring advantage after halftime.
      Borders scored a career-high 16 points in the game, connecting on 2-of-3 three pointers against the Wonder Boys zone and cutting through the defense to finish 5-of-6 from the field. He also dished out a team-high three assists and had two steals while playing 37 minutes.
      Camphor finished with 14 points while Washington and Gary Inglett each chipped in nine for SWOSU. No player for Arkansas Tech scored more than nine points and the Wonder Boys hit on 13-of-53 (24.5%) field goal attempts in the game.
 
Last Time vs. Southeastern (February 16, 2013)
      Southwestern Oklahoma State built a nine-point lead early on against in-state rival Southeastern Oklahoma State, but the Savage Storm rallied back in a big way and secured a 70-51 victory over the Dawgs on Saturday night at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
      SWOSU trailed by just two at the break and sustained that margin early in the half, pulling to within two at 38-36 on a three pointer by Marin Zelalija with 11:35 to play, but that would be the last basket the Bulldogs made for more than nine minutes. Southeastern outscored SWOSU 25-7 over that stretch and built a lead as high as 24 at 63-39 with 3:02 to play.
      Thomas Davis and Zelalija each had 17 points to lead the Bulldogs, who connected on just seven shots in the second half and were held to 31.4% (16-of-51) shooting from the field. The loss for SWOSU is their second straight and gives them a final road record of 3-8 this season.
 
Checking the Standings
      Only one team, Arkansas-Monticello, stands ahead of the 3-1 Bulldogs in the Great American Conference standings. UAM has a 4-1 conference mark, with their lone loss coming to SWOSU. East Central and Southern Nazarene are holding down third and fourth places, respectively, before a fifth-place logjam has Arkansas Tech, Harding, Henderson State and Southeastern Oklahoma State all tied at 2-2.
 
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 seven games. Camphor is the only SWOSU player to score 10 or more points in every game this season, including, including four 20-point performances. His scoring average of 16.7 points per game leads the team and ranks him fourth in the Great American Conference.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      Southeastern Oklahoma State was picked fifth in the GAC preseason poll and after playing a daunting exhibition schedule the Savage Storm earned four straight victories to open the 2013-14 season. Since that time, however, Southeastern has suffered five consecutive defeats, dropping non-conference contests against Dallas Baptist, Emporia State and Central Missouri. Last weekend, SOSU was swept on the road against Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello, evening their conference record at 2-2.
      Southeastern is scoring just 67.2 points per game, being led by Urald King's 15.2 points per game. King also ranks second in the Great American Conference with an average of 8.2 rebounds per game. The SOSU defense is holding opponents to just 40.3% shooting, the second-best mark in the conference.
 
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
- After scoring in double figures in the first eight games of the season, Gary Inglett has been held to a season-low nine points in both of SWOSU's last two games
- Trent Washington has hit at least one three pointer in each game this season
- Jordan Franz made his first start of the year against Arkansas Tech and connected on 1-of-3 three pointers. He is now 5-of-13 from long range the past three games.
- SWOSU has used three different starting lineups in the past three games
- No Bulldog player has fouled out of a game this season
- SWOSU has committed an average of 9.6 turnovers per game, the 10th-fewest in NCAA Division II. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over less than 10 times in each of the past three games
- Michael Bradley has hit 11-of-13 free throws in the last three games, raising his season average to 56.8% (25-of-44)
 
Looking Ahead
     The road swing continues on Saturday as SWOSU visits East Central in Ada for a 4 pm tipoff. The Bulldogs then return home for five of their next six games, which will include the grand opening of Pioneer Cellular Event Center on January 25.