Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The hot-shooting of the Bulldog men's basketball team led SWOSU to a 90-72 victory over rival Northwestern Oklahoma State on Monday night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center, snapping a four-game losing streak in the process.
SWOSU took a 40-35 lead to the break despite trailing most of the half. The Bulldogs went on an 11-0 run that included five points from
Collin Jennings and
Martell Collins closed out the half with a late jumper that gave SWOSU their five-point advantage at the break.
The Bulldogs were on the verge of running away with the game early in the second half after a three-point play by
Emeche Wells was followed up by a three-pointer from
Nick Shoemaker that made it 57-41 with 15:10 to play. However, the Rangers responded with an 8-0 run to get their deficit back into single digits and SWOSU's lead lingered around the double-digit mark for most of the rest of the game.
SWOSU made their final push to put the game around the six-minute mark as Shoemaker and
Markeise Champion hit three's on consecutive possessions to push the lead back up to 16. Highlight plays down the stretch, including an emphatic dunk by
Juwan Newmen and one final dagger from Shoemaker helped SWOSU keep the game well in hand before finishing it off with free throws.
Collins scored a game-high 23 points – his second consecutive 20-point effort – and eight rebounds while Newmen posted another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Champion added 15 points and five assists while Jennings and Shoemaker each had nine points as SWOSU shot a season-best 50.0% (29-for-58) from the field and hit 10-of-23 (43.5%) three-point attempts.
"We've really been working to find out who we are and I thought the second half of the Southern Nazarene game on Saturday answered a lot of questions," SWOSU Head Coach
Bob Battisti said. "I thought we shared the ball really well and knocked down some big shots which gave us confidence and energy. Now we have another quick turnaround and we have to get ready for a tough road game against Southeastern."
SWOSU's victory snaps their four-game slide and improves the Bulldogs to 9-6 on the year and 5-4 in league play, good for sixth place in the standings and one game out of fourth. SWOSU heads to Durant on Wednesday night for a conference matchup against Southeastern Oklahoma State at 7:30 pm.
