Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – For the second consecutive game, the SWOSU Men's Basketball team took a lead into the break, only to have a cold-shooting second half lead to a defeat as East Central handed the Dawgs a 77-65 setback on Thursday evening.
A balanced first half with four or more points from six different players helped the Bulldogs take a 37-35 lead into halftime after trailing by as many as nine midway through the period.
Nick Shoemaker came off the bench to knock down 2-of-4 attempts from long range along with a pair of free throws for eight points at the intermission, with the Bulldogs shooting 37.1% from the field and 46.2% from three-point range in the period.
East Central scored the first 12 points of the second half and never looked back, holding the Bulldogs at arm's length the remainder of the game. SWOSU got within four on a jump shot from
Martell Collins with 13 minutes remaining, but ECU responded with the next five points and led by at least seven the rest of the way. The Bulldogs committed 10 second-half turnovers that led to 18 points for the Tigers and ECU's bench outscored SWOSU's 31-to-10.
Collins led the Bulldogs with 15 points while
Markeise Champion added 13 points with six assists and
Luke Lewallen chipped in 10 points, making 3-of-5 field goal attempts and 4-of-7 free throws.
Juwan Newmen was inserted into the starting lineup for the game and responded with eight points and 12 rebounds
"I was extremely proud of our team for the effort they put forth tonight," SWOSU Head Coach
Bob Battisti said. "We have got to build on this game and continue to work to play our best basketball as the season moves into February."
With three straight home defeats, the Bulldogs have dropped to 8-5 on the year and 4-3 in Great American Conference play. Their busy week of games continues on Saturday when they head to Bethany to face Southern Nazarene at 3:00 pm.
