Setting the Stage
After a pair of losses during a three-game homestand, the SWOSU men's basketball team will look to pick up a victory where they've been most successful this season: on the road. Call it a road-court advantage if you will, but the Bulldogs are 7-0 in true road games, including a 5-0 such mark in conference games.
The opponent for the Bulldogs is Arkansas Tech, a team that SWOSU defeated 63-38 back on January 4 in a game that was the start of a six-game winning streak that propelled the Bulldogs to the top of the GAC standings. SWOSU has remained on top of the standings since, but they've seen their lead on the field shrink to just one-half game heading into the weekend.
SWOSU will need to earn road wins against Arkansas Tech and Harding -- places the Bulldogs are a combined 0-4 the last two seasons -- to stay in front of the pack as they aim for their first Great American Conference regular season championship.
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 421-302.
Doug Karleskint is in his fourth season as the head coach at Arkansas Tech after serving as the lead assistant at ATU for one year. He has a record of 80-31 to date, which includes two trips to the NCAA Division II national tournament.
Last Time Out
For the SWOSU men's basketball team, a recent string of overcoming early deficits finally caught up to the Bulldogs, who were handed a 68-52 defeat by Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday evening at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a 16-point hole – a place not uncommon for the team – late in the first half, but the Boll Weevils never allowed SWOSU to get within 10 points in the second half. UAM instead kept the Bulldogs at arm's length and handed SWOSU their second loss in the past three games.
Rod Camphor led the Bulldogs on Saturday, scoring 15 points while hitting 3-of-9 field goal attempts and 8-of-12 free throws while playing 39 minutes. SWOSU struggled offensively, being held to 30.4% (17-of-56) shooting from the field, the fourth time in the last five games the Bulldogs shooting was at 30% or below. Camphor hit the only 3-pointer of the game for SWOSU, who was held to a season low 10% (1-of-10) shooting from beyond the arc
Gary Inglett nearly posted his eighth double-double of the year after scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 38 minutes of action.
Kenyan Borders added eight points and
Michael Bradley scored six while blocking four shots, but
Trent Washington was held down by the UAM defense. Washington scored just two points on 1-of-9 shooting and he was held without a three-point field goal make for the first time this season.
Last Time vs. Arkansas Tech (January 4, 2014)
The Southwestern Oklahoma State University men's basketball team held Arkansas Tech to a season-low 38 points on 24.5% shooting to rebound from a tough defeat Thursday with a 63-38 victory over the Wonder Boys.
Playing against a zone defense from Arkansas Tech, SWOSU struggled from the outside, converting just 6-of-20 attempts from long range in the game. Timely drives from
Rod Camphor,
Kenyan Borders and
Trent Washington lifted the Bulldogs offense in the second half, leading to a 33-16 scoring advantage after halftime.
Borders scored a career-high 16 points in the game, connecting on 2-of-3 three pointers against the Wonder Boys zone and cutting through the defense to finish 5-of-6 from the field. He also dished out a team-high three assists and had two steals while playing 37 minutes.
Camphor finished with 14 points while Washington and
Gary Inglett each chipped in nine for SWOSU. No player for Arkansas Tech scored more than nine points and the Wonder Boys hit on 13-of-53 (24.5%) field goal attempts in the game.
Checking the Standings
Two losses in three games have cut the Bulldogs lead on the top spot in the conference standings down to one-half game heading into the weekend. SWOSU had won six straight games, building a two-game lead in the standings, but now East Central and Arkansas Tech are just one game behind the Bulldogs in the loss column. The top six teams in the GAC standings still have a conference record above .500 and included in that list is both opponents for SWOSU this weekend.
Scouting the Opponent
SWOSU will be facing an Arkansas Tech club that is 5-2 since the last meeting between the teams and 12-7 (7-4 GAC) on the year. The Wonder Boys are currently third in the conference standings but could move within one-half game of the Bulldogs with the victory. Arkansas Tech is 8-2 at home this season, including wins over Northeastern State and Midwestern State, but just 3-5 away from home, including their lowest scoring output of the year in a 63-38 defeat at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse on January 4.
Bobbie Hatchett and Willie Rogers have been the top scorers for ATU, putting up 11.7 and 10.0 points per game, respectively, while Marshawn Arnold and Derrick Little are both chipping in 9.7 points per contest. The Wonder Boys are scoring an average of 73.2 points per game while holding opponents to 67.1, giving them the best scoring defense in the conference and the second-best scoring margin at +6.1.
The ATU defense is also holding opponents to a 40.1 field goal percentage, the top mark in the GAC and they are third in the conference in rebounding, averaging a +2.2 rebounding margin compared to their opponents.
Quick Hits
- SWOSU's 12 turnovers against Arkansas-Monticello was the most by the Bulldogs in a conference game this season
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Gary Inglett is tied with Colt Fason of Ouachita Baptist with seven double-doubles, the most among conference players
- SWOSU and Arkansas Tech rank first and second in the GAC in scoring defense, both allowing less than 68 points per game to their opponents
- SWOSU now leads the GAC in blocked shots with an average of 4.3 per game
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Michael Bradley has blocked four shots in each of the past two games, giving him 33 for the season, the fourth-most among players from the GAC
- The Bulldogs were held to 1-of-10 shooting from 3-point range against UAM, their fewest three-pointers made in a game this season
- A 25-point win over Arkansas Tech earlier this season is the largest margin of victory for the Bulldogs this season
Looking Ahead
The Bulldogs look to avenge their largest defeat of the season, an 89-65 loss against Harding, on Saturday when they visit the Bisons for a 4 pm tipoff in Searcy, Ark.
