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SWOSU (17-8, 14-5 GAC) at Northwestern Oklahoma State (11-13, 8-10 GAC) Thursday, February 27, 7:30 pm Alva, Okla. (Percefull Fieldhouse) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
      The stage is set for one of the most-hyped games in the brief history of the Great American Conference. The men's basketball team at Southwestern Oklahoma State University heads north to conclude the regular season against longtime-rival Northwestern Oklahoma State with a chance to secure their first regular season conference championship since 1986-87.
      The Bulldogs were upstaged by the Rangers on January 25 as Northwestern hit a basket at the buzzer to stun SWOSU and spoil the opening night of the Pioneer Cellular Event Center. Now the Bulldogs have a chance to return the favor with the stakes at an all-time high. A win by SWOSU assures them of at least a share of the conference championship, their first in the GAC and since joining NCAA Division II.
 
The Coaches
      Bob Battisti is the 14th head men's basketball coach in SWOSU history and in his first season on the Bulldogs sidelines. He most recently spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian University where he helped the program its first postseason basketball title in 30 years. Prior to his stint at OCU, Battisti 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 for four years. In more than 24 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 426-304.
      Andrew Brown is in his seventh season as the head men's basketball coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State and his 14th year overall at the school. A full-time assistant at Northwestern from 2004-07, Brown replaced current SWOSU coach Bob Battisti as the Rangers head man in the fall of 2007 and he has a record of 109-90 to date at Northwestern.
 
Last Time Out
      Trent Washington scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 73-58 victory over Southern Nazarene on Senior Night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
      Gary Inglett came off the bench for the first time all season – giving way to senior Ante Bozic – and scored 16 points while grabbing 14 rebounds to post his ninth double-double of the season. The two juniors came up big for SWOSU on a night they honored a trio of seniors in Bozic, Michael Bradley and Rod Camphor who were playing their final home game in a Bulldog uniform.
      Washington set the tone, knocking down five 3-pointers in the first half and helping the Bulldogs build a 39-33 halftime lead. SWOSU quickly improved the lead to 15 points after an 11-2 run to open the second half. SNU made a charge on multiple occasions but could never get and closer than seven points in the second half.
      Washington scored a game-high 28 points and was one of three Bulldogs to finish with three steals, often times allowing SWOSU to get out and score in transition. Inglett had one of his most complete games of the season, adding five assists, three steals and two blocks to his double-double in 35 minutes of work.
      Camphor struggled from the field, but hit timely buckets in the second half to finish with 13 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Bradley had 11 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in 33 minutes of action.
      Starting point guard Kenyan Borders battled foul trouble all night and finished scoreless for the first time all season, but he was spelled by TreVante O'Neal, who finished with a balanced stat line of three points, three rebounds, three steals and three assists in a season-high 21 minutes of play.
 
Last Time vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State (January 25, 2014)
      Michael Bradley hit two free throws with just over nine seconds remaining, giving SWOSU a 66-65 lead, but Northwestern Oklahoma State's T'aries Taylor hit a runner at the buzzer, ending the Bulldogs six-game win streak and handing SWOSU a 67-66 defeat in their first game inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
      The Bulldogs fell behind by 10 at 40-30 early in the second half, but slowly chipped away at the Rangers lead until Trent Washington hit a deep 3-pointer while being fouled. His free throw gave SWOSU a 61-59 lead with 3:54 to play but back-to-back empty possessions allowed Northwestern to regain a lead of 63-61 on a tip-in by Eze Akwari at the 1:48 mark.
      Rod Camphor put SWOSU on top 64-63 with a jumper with 31 seconds remaining, the first of four lead changes in the final minute of the game. Bruce Wright scored for NWOSU with 22 seconds to play before Bradley was fouled and hit two clutch free throws that the Bulldogs hoped would be the difference. Taylor had other plans, fading to the right wing and hitting a runner that went through the basket as time expired.
      Camphor led the Bulldogs with 18 points after hitting 7-of-20 field goal attempts while Washington hit four big 3-pointers and scored 17 points. Bradley added 12 points and eight rebounds and Gary Inglett put in 10 points and eight rebounds.
      SWOSU won the rebounding battle, grabbing 43 rebounds compared to 39 for Northwestern, and blocked a season-high 10 shots in the game. The Bulldogs, however, shot just 35.6% (21-of-59) from the field and missed 10 free throws in what boiled down to a one-possession game.
 
Checking the Standings
      Tuesday's victory over Southern Nazarne, the Bulldogs fifth straight victory, gives SWOSU a half-game lead over Arkansas Tech with one game to go. The Bulldogs end the regular season on Thursday while the Wonder Boys have to play road games at Harding on Thursday and East Central on Saturday. A SWOSU win assures the Bulldogs of at least a share of their first Great American Conference title and a SWOSU win combined with an Arkansas Tech loss in either of their final two games gives the Bulldogs the title outright. SWOSU has not won a conference championship since transitioning to NCAA Division II and their last regular season title came in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference for the 1986-87 season.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      Northwestern Oklahoma State has won six of their last nine games since defeating the Bulldogs 67-66 in their first meeting. The Rangers have improved their record to 11-13 and they are 8-10 in conference play with a 7-5 record at home this season.
      The Rangers are among the lowest scoring teams in the GAC, averaging just 68.0 points per game while allowing opponents to score just north of 70 points. NWOSU is also near the bottom of the conference rankings in field goal percentage, where they rank ahead of only SWOSU, and 3-point field goal percentage. One major strength of the Rangers is on the backboard, where they rank second in the conference in rebounding.
      Bruce Wright is the top offensive threat for Northwestern, scoring 14.7 points per game while also pulling down a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game. Wright is joined by Adrian Motley, who is putting in 10.0 points per game and three others averaging 8.0 points or more per game. 
 
Quick Hits
- Trent Washington's 28 points on Thursday night were the most by a Bulldog this season
- Gary Inglett notched his ninth double-double of the year with 16 points and 14 rebounds against SNU
- SWOSU committed 12 turnovers against SNU, matching their highest total of turnovers during conference play
 
Looking Ahead
      The Bulldogs will spend Saturday scoreboard watching while awaiting the final bracket for the GAC Tournament, which will be held next Friday - Sunday in Bartlesville.