Box Score
 
BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Bulldogs finished 1-1 at the Southwest Baptist Classic after falling 64-61 to Lincoln in their final game at the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar, Mo.
 
The Bulldogs started off slowly, missing their first three shots before Martell Collins drained a three off the assist by Trent Washington. This started a strong two minutes from Collins in which he record a steal, two boards and scored SWOSU's next four points to pull the teams even at 7-7.
 
From there, the Blue Tigers jumped out to a six point lead before baskets by Collins and Mark Braden put the Dawgs on the front foot 17-16. SWOSU would eventually jump out to a 30-24 lead, before going into the half leading 30-28.
 
Lincoln scored a layup and a trey to take back the lead once the game resumed for the second half. They would not relinquish the lead until free throws by Emeche Wells drew the teams level at 54-54 with 2:43 remaining.
 
SWOSU found themselves down 62-58 before a Kenyon Borders assisted three by Washington pulled them within one with 15 seconds remaining in the game. Keyshawn Perkins then fouled Lincoln's Joshua Buie to put him at the line with six seconds remaining. Buie sank both free throws to put the Blue Tigers up 64-61, before a missed three by Collins ended the game with SWOSU's first regular season loss of the year.
 
Collins ended with a double-double thanks to game high 23 points on 44 percent shooting, including 4-8 from behind the arc, and 12 boards. Washington finished with 12 points and two assists, while Borders ended with six points and three rebounds.
 
"We didn't start off strong and struggled to find a rhythm throughout the game," said Head Coach Bob Battisti, "I'm still proud of the fight the team showed, but we'll need to take this defeat and learn from it going into our home opener on Tuesday."
 
SWOSU returns to action Tuesday when they host Southwestern Christian in their home opener at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center, with tipoff set for 7 PM.