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Central Oklahoma (3-1) at SWOSU (2-2) Tuesday, November 25, 7:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- SWOSU will host long-time rival Central Oklahoma in the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for the first time on Tuesday as the Bulldogs welcome the Bronchos to town for a 7:30 pm tipoff
- It will be the first meeting between the two programs since early in the 2011-12 season when the Bulldogs swept a home-and-home series from Central Oklahoma, including a 75-67 victory in Rankin Williams Fieldhouse
- In four games this season, SWOSU has alternated wins and losses, defeating Southwest Baptist and Southwestern Christian while falling against Lincoln and Harding
- The Bulldogs opened conference play on Saturday with a defeat at Harding, leaving them 2-2 (0-1 GAC) entering the game
 
The Opponent
Central Oklahoma (3-1)
- Enter the week with a record of 3-1, but they will be hosting Southwestern Christian on Monday night in Edmond
- Earned a pair of victories over Great American Conference foes, going 2-0 against Southeastern Oklahoma State and Northwestern Oklahoma State at the MIAA/GAC Basketball Challenge in Tahlequah
- Suffered their first defeat on Saturday, a 109-97 setback against Oklahoma City
- Picked to finish sixth in the 14-team Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), a conference SWOSU is 1-1 against so far this season
- Four players are averaging over 13.0 points per game with four total scoring in double figures
- Seth Heckart leads the way with 13.3 ppg while Cal Andrews, Garen Wright and Reggie Sloan each meet the 13.0 mark
- Averaging 91.8 points per game while holding opponents to 76.2 and outrebounding their opponents by two boards per contests
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (19-12, 2nd season; 428-308 career, 26th season)
- Bob Battisti was named the 14th head men's basketball coach in SWOSU history prior to last season after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian University
- Battisti led the Bulldogs to a 17-10 record in his first season, marking a five-win improvement from the previous season
- Three players earned All-GAC distinction in Battisti's first season at SWOSU, including GAC Player of the Year Rod Camphor and Defensive Player of the Year Michael Bradley
- SWOSU committed the fewest turnovers in NCAA Division II in Battisti's first season with 243, an average of just 9.0 per game
- Previously 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
- In 25 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 428-308 (.582)
 
Central Oklahoma: Terry Evans (246-115, 13th season)
- Has built UCO into a perennial NCAA Division II power, ranking first in winning percentage and second in wins in program history
- Directed the Bronchos to seven national tournament appearances, including one Elite Eight and one Sweet 16
- Also led UCO to six Lone Star North division titls and two overall league crowns while in the LSC
- Five-time conference Coach of the Year and he was named the South Central Region Coach of the Year in 2007-08
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU was held to a season-low 52 points as they suffered a 64-52 defeat at Harding on Saturday in their GAC opener
- Trent Washington led the Bulldogs with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting while Ayo Ojo tacked on 11 points and five rebounds
- The Bulldogs hit just 2-of-19 (10.5%) 3-pointers while Harding connected on 6-of-18 (33.3%) including five in the first half
- Despite being outrebounded by one, the Bulldogs were strong on the offensive glass, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds
 
Checking the Standings
- With Saturday's defeat, SWOSU is now one of three teams at the bottom of the conference standings without a GAC victory
- Three teams, however, including Arkansas Tech, Northwestern and Ouachita Baptist have yet to play a conference game
- Southern Nazarene and East Central are on top of the standings at 2-0 while Harding is right behind at 1-0
- Southern Arkansas and Henderson State each split during their opening weekend of conference play
 
SWOSU Notes
- Martell Collins continues to rank as SWOSU's top scorer with an average of 17.8 ppg despite being held to a season-low six against Harding
- Collins, who has come off the bench the past two games, also ranks as the Bulldogs top rebounder with 27 (6.8/game) to date
- Trent Washington led SWOSU with 15 points at Harding and he's upped his average to 12.8 ppg for the year
- Washington also leads the Dawgs with 10 assists and seven steals
- Ayo Ojo has put up 11 points in each of the past two games, upping his average to 6.5 points per game for the year to go along with 3.8 rebounds per contest
- Kenyan Borders was also held to a season-low against Harding, finishing with just three points on 1-for-8 shooting. Borders is SWOSU's third-leading scorer (9.0 ppg) and top free throw shooter, hitting 86.7% (13-of-15) of his attempts
- Emeche Wells ranks fourth on the team in scoring (7.5 ppg), second in rebounding (4.8/game) and third in steals (1.0/game) while leading the Bulldogs with four blocked shots
- Mark Braden has started in place of Collins the past two games and he's averaging 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a starter
- SWOSU has dropped to 11th in the GAC in scoring offense with an average of 63.0 points per game, but they've also ascended to the league lead in scoring defense by holding opponents to 63.5 points per game
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU heads to Goodwell on Saturday to meet Panhandle State with a 3:00 pm tipoff