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Harding (1-2, 1-0 GAC) at SWOSU (2-1, 1-0 GAC) Saturday, November 21st, 3:00 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- Coming off an 88-63 victory over Arkansas Tech in their Great American Conference opener, the SWOSU Men's Basketball team concludes a season-opening four-game home stand on Saturday afternoon against Harding
- The Bulldogs are 2-1 heading into the game while Harding is 1-2, but the Bisons are the lone GAC team that SWOSU has not defeated in the past two seasons under Head Coach Bob Battisti
- Harding defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State 82-63 on Thursday night in Alva in their GAC opener
 
The Opponent
Harding (2-1, 1-0 GAC)
- Earned their first victory of the season on Thursday evening, beating Northwestern Oklahoma State after losses to Minnesota State-Moorhead and Northern State in the GAC/NSIC Crossover last weekend in Russellville
- Preseason Great American Conference favorite, earning four first-place votes and 109 total points to edge East Central in the poll
- Averaging 76.7 points per game and connecting on 47.3% of their field goal attempts, the second-best mark in the GAC
- Led by Andraz Kavas, the leading scorer in the GAC at 26.3 points per game who is also on the verge of reaching the 1,000-point career scoring mark
- Five other players are averaging better than 7.5 points per game for Harding, with Stefan Andelkovic and Blake McNaire both at 9.7 points per game
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (35-24, 3rd season; 444-320 career, 27th season)
- In his third season as the head coach of the Bulldogs, having led SWOSU to back-to-back winning seasons in his first two years at the helm
- Has coached three players at SWOSU that earned All-GAC distinction, including one GAC Player of the Year and one GAC Defensive Player of the Year
- 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 26 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 444-319 (.581), but he has not defeated Harding as the Bulldogs head coach
 
Harding: Jeff Morgan (396-263, 23rd season)
- One of just four head coaches at Harding since they restarted basketball in 1957, Morgan is now the winningest coach in his 23rd season
- Has led his teams to 18 postseason tournament appearances, including nine Gulf South Conference Tournament appearances and four GAC Tournaments
- His teams have reached the national tournament five times, including the NCAA Division II national tournament four times, most recently in 2014
- Previously spent one season as the head coach at West Texas A&M
 
Last Time Out
- Five players scored in double figures and SWOSU held Arkansas Tech to just over 30% field goal shooting in an 88-63 win on Thursday evening
- SWOSU never trailed in the game and they were tied just twice before Markeise Champion hit three three-pointers in a 14-2 run that broke the game open in the first half
- Martell Collins and Emeche Wells scored 16 points apiece and tallied a team-leading five assists each
- SWOSU maintained a lead of at least 13 points the entire second half and they led by as much as 28 at the under-eight minute media timeout
 
Checking The Standings
- SWOSU was one of six teams to open the GAC season with a victory on Thursday night and the Bulldogs are one of three teams with a league-leading 2-1 record overall
- With two straight victories, SWOSU also has the current longest winning streak among league teams
- Harding is also 1-0 following their victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday evening
 
SWOSU Notes
- With four players averaging better than 10.0 points per game, SWOSU currently ranks third in the GAC in scoring offense at 78.3 points per game
- Conversely, SWOSU is also third in the league in scoring defense, allowing 70.7 points per game
- SWOSU's overall scoring margin of +7.7 is the second best among league teams through three games
- Martell Collins leads SWOSU in scoring at 16.3 points per game with Markeise Champion (13.7), Emeche Wells (12.0) and Collin Jennings (11.7) also providing strong offensive threats for the Dawgs
- Jewan Newmen has grabbed at least six rebounds in each game this season and he leads the team and ranks third in the GAC with an average of 8.0 boards per contest
- Emeche Wells has grabbed nine steals this season for an average of 3.0 per game which leads the conference
- Markeise Champion has done most of his damage from down town, hitting 11 three-pointers in the first three games while shooting 50.0% from deep
- SWOSU ranks second in the league in steals with 24 and tied for second with 13 blocked shots in three games
- The Bulldogs defend the three-point line better than any other team in the league, holding opponents to 22.4% shooting from long range this season
- Nick Shoemaker scored a career-high 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting against Arkansas Tech and he is averaging 5.3 points per game for the year
- Keyshawn Perkins has started all three games and he leads the team with 11 assists
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU steps out of conference play next Tuesday for an in-state battle against Central Oklahoma in Edmond
- The Bulldogs are then off until returning to league play on December 3rd and 5th against Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas