Box Score (html)
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – SWOSU's
Richard McCalop has taken a liking to playing against Southern Arkansas, one of the top teams in the Great American Conference heading into the Bulldogs showdown at SAU on Saturday. McCalop scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Muleriders 76-70, snapping a three-game winless streak.
McCalop, who scored a career-high 21 points the last time the Bulldogs faced SAU, was very efficient, knocking down 7-of-9 shots from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range to go along with a season-best eight rebounds in 29 minutes of action. His final field goal was a three from the right corner that extended a two-point SWOSU lead to five, 72-67, with 1:09 to play.
After trailing early, SWOSU took the lead late in the first half, pushing out to a 40-35 lead at the break in a half that saw five ties and four lead changes. The second half would be the opposite, with the Bulldogs in control throughout as they never relinquished the lead. SAU tied the game at 63-63 with 3:07 on a three from Chauncy Williams after an offensive rebound on a missed free throw, but SWOSU outscored the Muleriders 13-7 the rest of the way to earn the victory.
Trent Washington joined McCalop in double figures, scoring 16 points on 4-of-11 shooting, with 3-of-8 shooting on three-point attempts, including a clutch basket with 1:38 to push the Bulldogs lead back to four after the Muleriders tied the game.
Ayo Ojo and
Kenyan Borders each scored nine points while
Keyshawn Perkins had eight points and eight rebounds, helping offset the absence of leading scorer and rebounder
Martell Collins, who saw just 13 minutes of action, scoring four points with two boards.
"This was a gutty win for our guys to come through with," SWOSU Coach
Bob Battisti said after the game. "I thought Richard played tremendous, making several big three-point shots for us and I'm also proud of Keyshawn and Trent, who hit big shots for us down the stretch."
Field goal percentage has been a statistic that Battisti has used to measure his team's chances for victory and on Saturday the Bulldogs hit 25-of-60 (41.7%) from the field, their best shooting night in four games. In turn, SWOSU held SAU beneath their season average in scoring by limiting the Muleriders to 36.4% (20-of-55) field goal shooting, including 6-of-20 (30.0%) from long range.
Saturday's victory cannot be overstated as it, combined with a Henderson State defeat, gets the Bulldogs back within one game of the Great American Conference Tournament cutoff point with four games to play. SWOSU (12-11, 6-10 GAC) also remains above the .500 mark for the season heading into their final home stand, which begins on Thursday against Arkansas-Monticello.
