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Henderson State (2-7, 1-3 GAC) at SWOSU (8-2, 4-0 GAC) Thursday, January 7, 7:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- Conference play resumes for the SWOSU Men's Basketball team on Thursday evening as the Bulldogs host Henderson State at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- SWOSU, coming off a victory over Hillsdale Baptist last weekend, remains unblemished in Great American Conference play this season at 4-0 while the Reddies enter the contest 1-3 in league games
- The Bulldogs are 8-2 overall and tied with Arkansas Tech for the best 10-game record in the conference and SWOSU is 5-2 on their home court so far this season
- Henderson State is 0-3 in true road games this season while also 0-2 in neutral site games, leaving them winless away from their home venue
- SWOSU has won four straight meetings against the Reddies and they are 5-3 in league play against Henderson State since the formation of the Great American Conference
 
The Opponent
Henderson State (2-7, 1-3 GAC)
- Have won three of their last five games, including an exhibition victory over College of the Faith, after starting the year 1-5
- Beginning a four-game road trip on Thursday and the Reddies are still in search of their first victory away from home this season
- HSU is one of five teams tied for eighth in the GAC standings at 1-3, but they were victorious in their last conference game against Southeastern Oklahoma State on December 5th
- Among the lowest scoring teams in the conference, averaging 68.7 points per game while opponents score an average of 71.4 points per game against the Reddies
- The top three-point shooting team, percentage wise, in the Great American Conference as Henderson State knocks down 41.9% (65-of-155) of their attempts from deep
- The Reddies take care of the ball well and have forced 16.0 turnovers per game for a +2.1 turnover margin, the second-best mark in the league
- Junior guard Kevin Kozan leads the Reddies in scoring at 16.9 points per game while Tavian Pomlee is also averaging double figures with an even 10.0 points per contest
- HSU's post defender, Alioune Mboup, ranks third in the GAC with 13 blocked shots, an average of 1.4 per game
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (41-25, 3rd season; 450-321 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 450-321 (.585) and he is 4-0 against Henderson State while coaching the Bulldogs
 
Henderson State: Jimmy Elgas (2-7, 1st season)
- In his first season at Henderson State after being named the 28th head coach in HSU men's basketball history in April of 2015
- Had served as the top assistant coach at NCAA Division I program Evansville since 2007, helping the Aces to four postseason appearance in his final five seasons
- Previous coaching stops included assistant positions at Kansas State, Texas State and Lincoln (Ill.) College
 
The Series
      Date                Location                            Score             
      *1/5/2012         Arkadelphia, Ark.              L 80-86
      *2/2/2012         Weatherford, Okla.           L 73-77
      3/1/2012          Bartlesville, Okla.              W 81-60
      *1/17/2013       Arkadelphia, Ark.              W 90-84
      *2/21/2013       Weatherford, Okla.           L 55-59
      *1/16/2014       Weatherford, Okla.           W 79-76
      *2/20/2014       Arkadelphia, Ark.              W 79-74 (2 OT)
      *1/15/2015       Arkadelphia, Ark.              W 73-60
      *2/21/2015       Weatherford, Okla.           W 74-56
*GAC Conference Meeting
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU led wire-to-wire as they defeated Hillsdale Baptist 92-75 for their first win of the calendar year last Saturday at home
- The Bulldogs scored the first eight points of the game and led by as much as 16 on multiple occasions in the first half before taking a 41-30 lead to the break
- Hillsdale got within five at one point in the second half before the Bulldogs broke the game open and took a lead of 23 in the waning moments
- Markeise Champion scored a team-best 20 points in his first start of the season, while Wesley Franklin tallied new career-highs with 13 points and five rebounds in just 11 minutes of action
 
SWOSU Notes
- Junior point guard Markeise Champion leads the GAC and is ranked sixth in all of NCAA Division II with 39 made 3-pointers this season, good for an average of 3.9 per game
- Martell Collins has scored at least 12 points in each game this season and he ranks 13th in the GAC in scoring with an average of 15.2 points per game
- Emeche Wells is also a conference leader and he ranks 13th in NCAA Division II with 25 steals, an average of 2.5 per game for the year
- The Bulldogs have the top scoring margin among league teams, averaging 78.2 points per game while allowing 70.9 points per game, good for a margin of +7.3, exactly two points better than Arkansas Tech in second place
- Thursday's game will match strengths of the two teams as Henderson State leads the GAC in 3-point field goal percentage (41.9%) while SWOSU is tied for the league lead in 3-point defense (30.2%)
- Ayo Ojo leads SWOSU with 14 blocked shots, while Wells has 11 and Juwan Newmen has 9 as the Bulldogs have blocked more shots (47) than any other team in the league
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU is right back in action on Saturday afternoon, hosting the defending Great American Conference champions from Ouachita at 1:00 pm in the PCEC
- The Bulldogs conclude their six-game home stand next Thursday against East Central before going on the road to Southern Nazarene next Saturday