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SWOSU (8-6, 2-5 GAC) at Henderson State (7-7, 4-4 GAC) Thursday, January 15, 7:30 pm Arkadelphia, Ark. (Duke Wells Center) Live Stats  |  Listen Live  |  Watch Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- SWOSU Basketball heads to Arkansas for the first time this calendar year with their first visit scheduled to Arkadelphia on Thursday night, where they will face Henderson State
- The Bulldogs are reeling after back-to-back home losses against Southern Arkansas and Ouachita Baptist have dropped SWOSU to 2-5 in league play with four straight road games upcoming
- SWOSU is 4-2 in road games this season, with both defeats coming on the road in Arkansas against Harding and Arkansas Tech
- Henderson State is 5-1 on their home court, with their only setback against East Central, a team currently in second place of the GAC standings
- The Reddies are an even 7-7 on the year and 4-4 in GAC play, but they've lost four of their last five games, including a 68-67 defeat at Northwestern Oklahoma State in their last game out on Saturday
 
The Opponent
Henderson State (7-7, 4-4 GAC)
- Currently at .500 both overall and in conference play, but they have lost four of their last five games, all away from home
- Thursday night's game will be their first game at the Duke Wells Center since December 9, when they defeated Champion Baptist 113-55 in the final game of a four-game winning streak
- Ranked seventh in the GAC in scoring with an average of 70.6 points per game while allowing opponents to score just 69.5 points per contest to rank fifth in the conference in scoring defense
- Ranked second in the conference in steals with 116 (8.3/game) while also ranking sixth in the GAC with a turnover margin of +1.50
- Kevin Kozan is the team's leading scorer with an average of 15.2 points per game, one of three players averaging double figures for the Reddies
- Reggie Murphy is adding 13.4 points and a team-leading 6.5 rebounds per game while Micah Walker averages 10.8 points per contest
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (25-16, 2nd season; 434-312 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
- 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
- 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 434-311 (.583)
 
Doug Nichols (51-48, 4th season)
- In his fourth season at the helm of the Reddie basketball program after being tabbed as the 27th head coach in program history in July of 2011
- Led HSU to the GAC Tournament Championship game last season, the first finals appearance of a conference tournament for the Reddies since 2007
- Guided the Reddies to a second-place finish in the GAC in 2011-12, the first season of the conference's existence
- Came to Henderson after spending one season at Arkansas Tech as the Wonder Boys head assistant coach
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU erased a 12-point halftime lead early in the second half, but Southern Arkansas controlled the final 10 minutes and defeated the Bulldogs 81-73 on Saturday
- The Muleriders were hot early, hitting 10 3-pointers and leading by as many as 15 points in the first half
- A quick SWOSU burst led to a 16-3 run coming out of the locker room and a 50-47 SWOSU lead with 15:51 to play before SAU seized momentum and regained control
- Richard McCalop paced the Bulldogs with a season-high 21 points, including 15 in the first half, in the midst of SAU's hot shooting
- Martell Collins posted another double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds
 
Checking the Standings
- Consecutive defeats by the Bulldogs, couple with victories from Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State have SWOSU in a three-way tie for ninth place in the GAC standings heading into the weekend
- Thursday's opponent, Henderson State, is tied with Southern Nazarene for fifth in the standings at 4-4, two games out of first place
- Southern Arkansas occupies the top spot in the standings at 6-2, one-half game ahead of Ouachita Baptist and East Central at 5-2
 
SWOSU Notes
- Martell Collins recorded his seventh double-double of the season on Saturday against Southern Arkansas, and his fourth in the past five games, with 19 points and 11 rebounds
- Collins joined Kenyan Borders in earning GAC Player of the Week honors this season, earning the award on January 5 after averaging a double-double in wins over USAO and Southeastern Oklahoma State
- Borders previously earned the GAC's weekly honor back on December 8 after hitting a pair of game-winning shots for SWOSU against East Central and Hillsdale Baptist
- Richard McCalop came off the bench to score a season-high 21 points against Southern Arkansas in just 22 minutes of action
- McCalop was very efficient, connecting on 5-of-6 field goals, 3-of-4 3-point attempts and 8-of-9 free throws in the game
- SAU scored 81 points against the Bulldogs, tying the most points given up by SWOSU this season (Hillsdale Baptist, December 6)
- SWOSU still leads the GAC in scoring defense by allowing opponents just 67.1 points per game
- The Bulldogs committed 12 turnovers against SAU, breaking a stretch of five consecutive games with seven or fewer turnovers
- Despite the turnover numbers, SWOSU still ranks third in NCAA Division II with 131 turnovers (9.4/game) on the year
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU completes the road trip on Saturday, facing Arkansas-Monticello 3:00 pm