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USAO (1-8) at SWOSU (6-4) Tuesday, December 30, 7:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- Following their first consecutive defeats of the 2014-15 season, the SWOSU Basketball team has the chance to finish the 2014 calendar year on a high note when they host Science & Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) on Tuesday evening
- After beginning the season 6-2, SWOSU has dropped two straight conference games, falling to Southern Nazarene at home before a road setback at Arkansas Tech in their final game before the holiday break
- The Bulldogs head into the heart of their conference schedule with a record two games over .500 overall but two games under .500 in conference play
- SWOSU defeated USAO 75-68 last November in Chickasha
 
The Opponent
Science & Arts of Oklahoma (1-8)
- Enter the game on a six-game losing skid which has dropped their record to 1-8 on the year
- Their lone victory of the season was a 62-58 home win over Northwestern Oklahoma State back on November 8
- Suffered defeats against other NCAA Division II foes Cameron and Midwestern State, with the game against MSU counting as an exhibition
- Led in scoring by Ed'Lexus Collier (19.4 points per game) and Jerry Coriolan (11.2 ppg)
- Will count Tuesday's game as an exhibition
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (23-14, 2nd season; 432-310 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)
 
Doug Hall (1-8, first season)
- In his first season leading the Drovers after being named the seventh Head Men's Basketball Coach at USAO back in August
- Comes to USAO from Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), an NCAA Division I institution, where he was an assitant coach for one season after three years as the Director of Operations
- From 2001-09, served as the head basketball coach at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, where he left as the third-winningest coach in school history
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU suffered their second consecutive defeat on December 17 against Arkansas Tech, 69-65, in Russellville
- The Bulldogs attempted a season-high 44 3-pointers, hitting 12 for a 27.3% from long range
- Trent Washington scored 20 points on 6-of-24 shooting, including hitting 6-of-21 attempts from behind the 3-point arc
- Keyshawn Perkins added a career-high 16 points and Martell Collins recorded another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds
- SWOSU battled foul trouble and hit 9-of-15 free throw attempts while Arkansas Tech attempted 40 free throws for the game, hitting 26
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU finished first semester play two games under .500 in conference action, with a 1-3 record to date
- The Bulldogs are alone in ninth place in the standings currently, one-half game ahead of Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State in the GAC cellar
- East Central and Ouachita Baptist are tied atop the standings at 3-1 in GAC play while four teams (SNU, SAU, HSU, HU) are all above the break point at 3-2
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU currently has three players averaging double figures in scoring on the year, led by Martell Collins at 17.4 points per game
- Collins is also the Bulldogs leader in rebounding with an average of 8.0 boards per game and he's recorded four double-doubles on the year
- After scoring just four points combined in the previous two games, Trent Washington broke out of his slump against Arkansas Tech with a season-best 20 points
- Washington needed 24 field goal attempts, including 21 3-pointers, to reach the 20-point plateau and up his scoring average to 12.6 ppg for the year
- Collins and Washington are the only two players who have led SWOSU in scoring during a game this year
- SWOSU continues to lead the Great American Conference in scoring defense (66.5 points per game), but they rank 10th in scoring offense (67.8 ppg)
- Four players for SWOSU: Washington, Kenyan Borders, Emeche Wells and Ayo Ojo, have been in the starting lineup of all 10 games this season
- Collins has made eight starts this year and averages a team-high 32.6 minutes per game
- Bench production has come from Richard McCalop and Keyshawn Perkins, who have both recorded career highs in scoring during the past two games
- Perkins scored a career-best 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting against Arkansas Tech after not missing a shot in 13 minutes of action against Southern Nazarene
- McCalop had his most productive game as a Bulldog against SNU with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds and one blocked shot
- 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
 
Looking Ahead
- After the calendar flips to 2015, SWOSU hits the road to Durant to face Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, January 3
- The Bulldogs then return home the following weekend to host Ouachita Baptist (Jan. 8) and Southern Arkansas (Jan. 10)