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GAC Tournament Semifinals (8) SWOSU vs. (5) Arkansas Tech Saturday, March 7, 8:00 pm Bartlesville, Okla. (Bruin Fieldhouse) Live Stats |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- Following a thrilling 71-67 overtime victory over top-seed Ouachita Baptist in the first round of the GAC Tournament, the Bulldog basketball team will now face No. 5 seed Arkansas Tech in the tourney semifinals on Saturday evening
- The Bulldogs were swept by ATU during the regular season and they have twice been eliminated from the GAC Tournament by the Wonder Boys (2012 & 2013)
- ATU advanced to the semifinals following a 95-83 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday evening
- SWOSU improved to 3-1 in GAC quarterfinal games and they are now seeking their second trip to the tournament championship game (2012)
- Both teams will be battling for a spot in the tournament championship game, which provides a berth in the NCAA Division II postseason tournament
- Friday's victory improved the Bulldogs to 2-0 this season in overtime games
 
The Opponent
Arkansas Tech (16-13)
- Tied a school record by hitting 19 3-pointers as they defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State in the GAC quarterfinals on Friday evening
- Winners of four straight games, all four of which they scored at least 77 points, including a season-high 95 points on Friday
- Led in scoring by Mike Balogun, who scored 14 points on Friday, and is averaging 14.1 points per game for the year
- DJ Jethroe had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds on Friday, giving him an average of 10.6 points per game and a team-leading 5.5 rebounds per game this season
- All five starters scored at least 14 points against Southeastern Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, when ATU had just 12 points scored from their bench
- Have a record of 2-1 this season in Bartlesville, including a 1-1 mark earlier this season during a regional challenge event
- Ranked ninth in the GAC during the regular season with a scoring average of 70.8 points per game while opponents put up an average of 71.4 points per contest
- Set atop the GAC standings with a 3-point field goal defense holding opponents to just 32.3% shooting from long range
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (33-22, 2nd season; 444-318 career, 26th season)
- In his second season as the head coach of the Bulldogs, where he led SWOSU to a five-win improvement his first season and is 32-22 as head coach
- 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 442-318 (.581), including a 1-3 mark against Arkansas Tech and a 1-1 record at the GAC Tournament as the Bulldogs head coach
 
Arkansas Tech: Chad Kline (16-13, 1st season)
- Named the 22nd head coach in Arkansas Tech history on June 2, 2014 after spending three seasons as an assistant at ATU
- Helped the Wonder Boys to three conference championships while having seven All-GAC players and three specialty award winners
- Has previous head coaching experience with seven years on staff at Frank Phillips College in Texas, including the last five years as the head coach
 
This Year Against the Opponent
- For the second straight game, the Bulldogs are pitted against a foe who swept them during the regular season
- ATU defeated SWOSU by identical scores of 69-65 in Russellville in December and last month in Weatherford to claim the season series
- Trent Washington led the Bulldogs in scoring against ATU, averaging 18.0 points per game on 12-of-39 shooting from the field
- Keyshawn Perkins scored his career high with 16 points in the meeting at Arkansas Tech but missed the game against ATU in Weatherford
- Martell Collins averaged a double-double of 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the meetings against the Wonder Boys this season
- ATU outshot the Bulldogs 37% to 35% during the season series, but a big margin existed from the 3-point line, where ATU shot 45% compared to just 30% (22-72) for the Dawgs
- SWOSU controlled the paint against the Wonder Boys with eight blocked shots, compared to two for ATU
 
SWOSU at the GAC Tournament
- This is SWOSU's fourth consecutive season advancing to postseason play in Bartlesville, where the Bulldogs have been a lower seed three times in the first round of the tournament
- SWOSU became the first No. 8 seed to advance to the GAC Tournament semifinals with their victory on Friday, improving the final seed to 1-3 in opening games
- With their win, the Bulldogs are now 3-0 in GAC Tournament quarterfinals as the lower seed and 0-1 as the higher seed after suffering a 63-59 defeat to SAU as the No. 2 seed last season
- Overall the Bulldogs are 4-3 at the GAC Tournament, with a record 1-1 under the direction of Coach Bob Battisti
 
SWOSU Notes
- Three Bulldogs played 40 minutes or more in Friday's quarterfinal victory, including a season-best 43 minutes of action for both Martell Collins and Trent Washington
- Washington finished with 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting, knocking down 2-of-9 shots from 3-point range in the victory
- Collins chipped in 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals while not committing a turnover in his 43 minutes of action
- Kenyan Borders took over the game down the stretch in regulation, scoring 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting
- Ayo Ojo battled foul trouble to score 11 points and grab six rebounds while blocking six shots before fouling out near the end of overtime
- Emeche Wells scored 11 points as all five starters scored in double figures for SWOSU for the first time this season
- Oliver Willis finished the game on Friday in relief of Ayo Ojo and hit 2-4 free throws in the final moments, including the game-sealing pair with less than one second to play
- SWOSU turned the ball over just nine times in 45 minutes of action against OBU