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Hillsdale Baptist (4-7) at SWOSU (5-2) Saturday, December 6, 3:00 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- A bye on the conference schedule has the SWOSU Basketball team taking their three-game winning streak into a non-conference matchup with Hillsdale Baptist on Saturday at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- Game time has been adjusted and the game will now tip off at 3:00 pm due to SWOSU hosting OSSAA State Championship football games on Saturday
- SWOSU improved to 5-2 on the year and won their first conference game of the season on Thursday evening with a thrilling 58-57 victory at East Central
- Hillsdale Baptist is 4-7 coming into the game following a 76-67 setback against Panhandle State on Tuesday
- The Bulldogs are a perfect 2-0 on their home court this season
 
The Opponent
Hillsdale Baptist (4-7)
- Enter the game with a 4-7 record, alternating wins and losses in their past four games
- Defeated by Panhandle State 76-67 on Tuesday evening after defeating South Dakota Mines and falling to Southeastern Oklahoma Stat at a South Dakota Thanksgiving Classic
- Victories have come against Southwest Adventist, Central Christian, Barclay and South Dakota Mines
- Also played exhibition games against Oklahoma Wesleyan, Abilene Christian and Houston Baptist
- Led in scoring by Phil Carey at 18.6 points per game
- Ranked 10th among NCCAA schools with an average of 74.1 points scored per game while allowing opponents to score better than 83.0 points per contest
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (22-12, 2nd season; 431-308 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 431-308 (.583)
 
Hillsdale Baptist: Mark Berokoff (3rd season)
- In his third season as the head coach at Hillsdale after spending one year as the Director of Basketball Operations for Texas State
- Also coached collegiately at Hill College and Louisiana Tech following a long high school coaching career in California
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU took their only lead of the game with 2.4 seconds remaining as Kenyan Borders hit the game-winning 3-pointer in a 58-57 victory at East Central on Thursday
- The Bulldogs outscored ECU 9-2 in the final 27 seconds, getting timely 3-pointers from Trent Washington, Martell Collins and Borders
- Washington led SWOSU with 19 points while Borders and Emeche Wells each added 11 as the Dawgs won their third straight game
- Won despite shooting just 35.5% from the field and 31.8% from 3-point range and being outrebounded by the Tigers
- Bulldogs took care of the ball, turning the ball over just eight times while forcing 13 by East Central
- SWOSU overcame a 12-point first half deficit after trailing 21-9 just over 10 minutes into the game
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU earned their first conference victory of the season on Thursday night and the Bulldogs are now tied with Harding for seventh in the standings at 1-1
- Ouachita Baptist and Northwestern Oklahoma State are the lone teams remaining unbeaten in conference play at 1-0
- Four teams sit just ahead of SWOSU at 2-1 while three teams are still in search of their first conference victory
 
SWOSU Notes
- Kenyan Borders hit his second game-winning shot in the past three games against ECU, hitting a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining to propel the Bulldogs to victory
- The Bulldogs have now won three straight games, giving them the longest current winning streak in the Great American Conference
- The 58 points SWOSU was held to against East Central marked their second-lowest scoring output of the season
- SWOSU's scoring offense now ranks tied for 10th in the GAC at 66.6 points per game, but they lead the conference in scoring defense by holding opponents to just 63.0 points
- Trent Washington led SWOSU with 19 points for the second straight game, upping his average to 14.1 points per game, ranking second on the team
- Washington also leads SWOSU with 13 steals and ranks second on the team with 19 assists
- Martell Collins struggled shooting the ball at East Central but still finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes of action
- Collins leads SWOSU in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.0) on the year
- Emeche Wells had three steals against East Central and converted them at the other end, including two transition dunks as part of his 11 points against the Tigers
- Wells is averaging 9.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and he's also got 12 steals, five blocks and six assists to his credit
- Ayo Ojo battled foul trouble and one of the best post players in the GAC on Thursday but finished with four points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU has a full week off before returning hosting Southern Nazarene next Saturday at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The Bulldogs close out the semester with two conference games, including a road contest at Arkansas Tech on December 17