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SWOSU (6-3, 1-2 GAC) at Arkansas Tech (5-5, 1-2 GAC) Wednesday, December 17, 7:30 pm Russellville, Ark. (Tucker Coliseum) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- After having their four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, the SWOSU Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday as they head to Russellville, Ark., to face Arkansas Tech
- The Bulldogs have not defeated the Wonder Boys in Russellville since the inception of the Great American Conference in 2011-12 and SWOSU is just 1-7 against ATU in the past three seasons, with the victory coming last season at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse
- Arkansas Tech had a 4-2 record on their home court this season while the Bulldogs are 3-1 in true road games
- Both teams enter at 1-2 in GAC play with the winner of Wednesday's game evening their conference record
 
The Opponent
Arkansas Tech (5-5, 1-2 GAC)
- Preseason favorite to win the Great American Conference
- Started the season slowly at 1-3 but have since won four of their last six games, including a 77-75 victory over Southern Arkansas on Saturday
- Winless on the road and 1-1 on a neutral floor but they have a 4-2 record at Tucker Coliseum with defeats against Pittsburg State and Ouachita Baptist
- Averaging 68.4 points per compared (compared to 68.1 by SWOSU) while allowing just over 70 points per game to their opponents
- Mike Balogun (14.1), Clarence Willard (11.0) and Nick Wayman (10.1) all averaging double figures in scoring
- Eleven different players have started at least one game this season with Wayman and Tyler Friedel as the only two to be in the starting lineup of all 10 games
- Have earned at least a share of the GAC Championship in each of the previous three seasons
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (23-13, 2nd season; 432-309 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 432-309 (.583)
 
Chad Kline (5-5, 1st season)
- Named the 22nd head coach in Arkansas Tech history on June 2, 2014 after spending three seasons as an assistant at ATU
- Helped the Wonder Boys to three conference championships while having seven All-GAC players and three specialty award winners
- Has previous head coaching experience with seven years on staff at Frank Phillips College in Texas, including the last five years as the head coach
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU struggled to find a rhythm offensively while Southern Nazarene hit better than 50% from the field and long range in a 74-65 victory at the PCEC on Saturday
- The win snapped a four-game winning streak by the Bulldogs and was their first home loss of the season
- The Bulldogs allowed SNU to shoot 50.9% from the field and 52.4% from long range while being outrebounded 38-28
- Martell Collins led SWOSU with 20 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU and Arkansas Tech both enter Wednesday's game at 1-2 in GAC play and in danger of falling two games below .500 in league play
- Both teams are also tied with Northwestern Oklahoma State for eighth place in the standings currently
- East Central, the team SWOSU owns their lone conference victory over, is currently atop the standings at 3-1 while Ouachita Baptist is right behind at 2-1
- SNU, Henderson State and Southern Arkansas are all one game over .500 with the rest of the conference at the break-even point or below
 
SWOSU Notes
- Richard McCalop had his most productive game as a Bulldog on Saturday with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds and one blocked shot
- Percentage wise, McCalop is the Bulldogs top 3-point shooter at 46.2% (6-of-13)
- Martell Collins scored 20 points against SNU, his sixth 20-plus point performance in nine games as a Bulldog
- Collins leads SWOSU and ranks fourth in the GAC in scoring at 18.2 points per game while also leading SWOSU in rebounding at 7.7 per game
- Kenyan Borders became the first Bulldog to be named GAC Player of the Week since 2012 on December 8 after hitting two game-winning shots the previous week
- Borders has currently scored in double figures in four straight games, upping his average to 11.3 points per game, third-best mark on the team
- Ayo Ojo ranks fifth on the team in scoring at 7.1 points per game and he's been effective at the stripe, knocking down 22-of-27 (81.5%) free throws on the year
- SWOSU continues to lead the GAC in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 66.2 points per game for the year
- Keyshawn Perkins scored a career-best seven points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting against Southern Nazarene in just 13 minutes of action
- Emeche Wells ranks as the Bulldogs fourth-leading scorer at 9.6 points per game while also sitting second on the team with 4.3 rebounds per game
- SWOSU's second-leading scorer, Trent Washington, was held scoreless for the first time as a Bulldog against SNU on Saturday
- Washington has scored just four points on 2-of-21 shooting in the past two games after scoring at least 12 points in each of SWOSU's first seven games
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU concludes the 2014 calendar year by hosting USAO on December 30