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SWOSU (9-6, 5-4 GAC) at Southeastern Okla. (5-10, 3-6 GAC) Wednesday, January 20, 7:30 pm Durant, Okla. (Bloomer Sullivan Arena) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- SWOSU Men's Basketball will play their third game in five days on Monday evening when they travel to Durant to face Southeastern Oklahoma State
- The game comes just two days after the Bulldogs defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State 90-72 to snap a four-game losing streak in league games
- At 5-4 in GAC play, SWOSU is alone in sixth place, one game behind Southern Arkansas and Southern Nazarene for fourth in the standings and two games out of first place
- The Bulldogs are 3-1 on the road this season, including a 2-1 record in conference road games, and they will be seeking their second straight victory in Durant
- Southeastern has dropped their last two games, falling to 5-10 overall and 3-6 in GAC action which is tied for eighth in the league standings
- SWOSU is coming off their best shooting night of the season on Monday when they knocked down 50% of their field goal attempts and hit 10 three-pointers in the victory
- The Bulldogs have left victorious following their last two visits to Durant, defeating the Savage Storm by a combined three points in those meetings
 
The Opponent
Southeastern Oklahoma State (5-10, 3-6 GAC)
- Have dropped 10 of their last 11 games to fall into a tie for eighth place in the GAC standings at 3-6 following Monday night's defeat at East Central
- Averaging 73.6 points per game, but they are allowing the most points of any team in the conference with opponents scoring 82.3 points per night against them
- Ranked second in the GAC in blocked shots with 64 (4.3/game), a mark that trails only SWOSU among conference teams
- Southeastern has had an average of 940 fans attend their nine home games, giving them the second-best home attendance among league schools
- Led in scoring by the duo of Anton Cook (16.7 ppg) and Sami Bzai (14.2 ppg) who have combined for better than 30 points per contest
- SE's Tyler Lonzie is ranked fourth in the conference with 20 blocked shots, an average of 1.3 per game
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (42-29, 3rd season; 451-325 career, 27th season)
- In his third season as the head coach of the Bulldogs, having led SWOSU to back-to-back winning seasons in his first two years at the helm
- Has coached three players at SWOSU that earned All-GAC distinction, including one GAC Player of the Year and one GAC Defensive Player of the Year
- 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 26 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 451-325 (.581) and he is 3-1 against the Savage Storm of Southeastern while at SWOSU
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State: Kelly Green (56-71, 5th season)
- In his fifth season as the head coach of the Savage Storm, where he has coached six all-conference honorees, including three first-team selections
- Joined the Southeastern program after 14 seasons as the head coach at Arizona Western Junior College, where he posted a winning percentage of 76.2%
- Other prior coaching stops include Frank Phillips College, Western Texas College, Texas-Pan American, Western New Mexico and Angleton (Texas) HS
 
The Series
GAC History Only
      Date                Location                            Score             
      *1/26/2012       Weatherford, Okla.           L 68-92
      *2/23/2012       Durant, Okla.                    L 57-64
      *1/10/2013       Weatherford, Okla.           W 82-71
      *2/16/2013       Durant, Okla.                    L 51-70
      *1/9/2014         Durant, Okla.                    W 72-70
      *2/15/2014       Weatherford, Okla.           W 82-76
      *1/3/2015         Durant, Okla.                    W 61-60
      *2/28/2015       Weatherford, Okla.           L 73-83
*GAC Conference Meeting
 
Last Time Out
- The hot-shooting of the Bulldogs led to a 90-72 rivalry victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Monday night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- SWOSU took a 16-point lead early in the second half and withstood multiple runs by the Rangers, never letting NWOSU get within seven the rest of the game
- Martell Collins scored a game-high 23 points, leading the Bulldogs with his second consecutive 20-point effort
 
SWOSU Notes
- Emeche Wells returned to the starting lineup and played extended minutes against Northwestern for the first time in five games, scoring six points with four assists and one steal in 26 minutes
- Nick Shoemaker has scored nine points in four consecutive games, connecting on 11-of-29 three-point attempts during that stretch
- Markeise Champion has reached double figures in scoring during each of the past nine games, upping his average to 15.1 points per game
- Juwan Newmen set a new season-high with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting against NWOSU and he finished off his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds
- Martell Collins has scored 12 or more points in each game this season and he's averaging 24.0 points per game in his last two outings
- Ayo Ojo (21 blocked shots), Juwan Newmen (15) and Emeche Wells (11) all rank among the GAC's top ten in blocked shots this season, helping the Bulldogs lead the league as a team in that category
- Ojo came off the bench to score seven points and grab four rebounds on Monday while not missing a shot (2-for-2 from the field, 3-for-3 from the free throw line)
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU's busy stretch continues, but with an extra day off before they return to action at home against Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday
- Tipoff on Saturday will be at 2:00 pm as the Bulldogs are helping to accommodate a high school tournament also being played at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center this weekend