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Southeastern Okla. (14-13, 10-9 GAC) at SWOSU (15-11, 9-10 GAC) Saturday, February 28, 3:00 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- After a dominating 77-46 victory over the rival Rangers on Thursday, SWOSU Basketball carries a four-game winning streak into the Senior Day, the regular season finale against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday
- The Bulldogs will be looking for a sweep against the Savage Storm after a 61-60 victory in Durant back in January
- Jordan Franz scored five points in the final 48 seconds, including the game-winning free throws with 7.7 seconds to play to lift the Bulldogs to victory in Durant
- SWOSU clinched their spot in the GAC Tournament with Thursday night's victory, but seeding remains up in the air with teams in fourth-through-eighth places in the standings within one game of each other
- Southeastern also comes into Saturday's season finale off a rivalry victory after defeating East Central 88-83 on Thursday night in Durant
- SWOSU will honor their three seniors: Kenyan Borders, Jordan Franz and Trent Washington, on the court prior to tipoff
 
The Opponent
Southeastern Oklahoma State (14-13, 10-9 GAC)
- Snapped a two-game slide with their rivalry victory over East Central on Thursday, moving into a tie for fourth place in the league standings
- Have won four of their last six games and they've won three consecutive home games, dating back to January 29
- Averaging 72.9 points per game while holding opponents to 71.7 ppg for a scoring margin of +1.2 ppg, which ranks fifth in the league
- Ranked third in the league in 3-point FG percentage (38.2%), fourth in FG percentage (46.4%) and fourth in free throw percentage (70.0%)
- Led in scoring by Taylor Smaller, who averages 16.9 points per game following a career-high 36-point outing against East Central
- Danny Powell is their second-leading scorer at 15.6 points per game while Darius Harris leads the league in rebounding with 9.4 boards per contest
- Southeastern leads the GAC with 129 blocked shots (4.8/game) behind league-leader Antonio Worthy with 45 (1.7/game)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (32-21, 2nd season; 441-317 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 441-317 (.581), including a 3-0 mark against the Savage Storm as the Bulldogs head coach
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State: Kelly Green (50-62, 4th season)
- Took over at Southeastern Oklahoma State in the spring of 2011 after 14 seasons as head coach at Arizone Western junior college
- Won over 300 games during his time at Arizona Western and has amassed almost 400 victories in 18 years of collegiate head coaching
- Also been a head coach for Frank Phillips College and Western New Mexico
 
Last Time Out
- Trent Washington scored 30 points, including 12 straight in the game-breaking 26-0 run, to lead SWOSU past Northwestern 77-46 in rivalry action on Thursday
- Washington was 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from 3-point range as he scored a new career-high against the Rangers
- The Bulldogs held Northwestern to just 46 points and 16 made field goals, both season bests by SWOSU's defense
- Ayo Ojo had several highlight reel slam dunks as part of his 15-point, 17-rebounds performance that also included three blocked shots and two assists
- Emeche Wells had a balanced stat line with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and one steal in 23 minutes without a turnover
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU officially punched their ticket to Bartlesville on Thursday with a rivalry romp over Northwestern
- While the field for the GAC Tournament next weekend is set, much of the seeding still relies on the outcome of games played Saturday
- SWOSU and Southern Nazarene are both 9-10 and tied for seventh in the standings, one game behind Arkansas Tech, Southeastern and Harding at 10-9
- Ouachita Baptist has claimed the league championship outright and they are locked into the top seed, while East Central and Southern Arkansas can both still make a claim to the second seed
- The bracket for the GAC Tournament will be released Saturday evening following the conclusion of all league games
 
SWOSU Notes
- With his career-high 30 points, Washington became the first Bulldog since Rod Camphor in the 2013 GAC Tournament to reach the 30-point plateau
- Ayo Ojo also had a milestone game with a career-high 17 rebounds, the most by a SWOSU player since Curtis Nickson hauled in 17 against Cameron on February 6, 2010
- Ojo recorded his second double-double this season and also tied a season-high with three blocked shots, his seventh straight game with at least two blocks
- Martell Collins was held scoreless for the first time all season against Northwestern, but still grabbed nine rebounds for the third straight game
- Kenyan Borders scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds against the Rangers, giving up a season average of 10.3 points per game
- SWOSU's third senior, Jordan Franz, had his best game of the season at Southeastern, scoring the final five points for SWOSU in the games last minute
- Franz figures to make his fifth start of the season on Saturday for Senior Day
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs open up play at the GAC Tournament next Friday in Bartlesville, with the time and opponent to be announced