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Route 66 Rivalry Southern Nazarene (10-12, 9-7 GAC) at SWOSU (13-9, 9-7 GAC) Saturday, February 13, 3:00 pm Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game  Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- Hall of Fame Weekend at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center will feature Route 66 Rivalry action as the Bulldog basketball team welcomes Southern Nazarene to town
- The game will be crucial for positioning in the Great American Conference standings with both teams tied for fourth place in the league with matching 9-7 records
- Both teams are looking to rebound from setbacks on Thursday night, with SWOSU going down at East Central and SNU falling at Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Southern Nazarene owns the first victory in the season series, holding off SWOSU for an 82-77 victory last month in Bethany
- SWOSU has lost three straight in the series overall and the Bulldogs are 3-4 against the Crimson Storm as GAC foes
- The Bulldogs have won four straight home games, moving to 9-5 in Weatherford this season, while Southern Nazarene is 3-6 in true road games and they suffered two losses at the PCEC during the SWOSU Classic back in November
 
The Opponent
Southern Nazarene (10-12, 9-7 GAC)
- Defeated by Northwestern Oklahoma State 79-65 on Thursday night in Alva, snapping a two-game winning streak
- Enter the weekend with a 10-12 overall record, but they are 9-7 in league play which is good for a share of fourth place along with SWOSU and Southern Arkansas
- Looking to sweep SWOSU for the second straight season after holding off the Bulldogs for an 82-77 victory last month
- Third-highest scoring team in the league, averaging 78.2 points per game while allowing 80.7 points per game, giving them the worse scoring defense in the GAC
- Led by CJ Rodriguez, a three-time GAC Player of the Week and the fourth-leading scorer in the GAC at 18.1 points per game
- Guard LB Willis also earned the GAC's weekly honor earlier this season and he's ranked ninth in the GAC in scoring at 15.7 points per game
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (46-32, 3rd season; 455-328 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 455-328 (.582) and he is 2-3 against Southern Nazarene as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Southern Nazarene: Adam Bohac (152-90, 8th season)
- Has guided Southern Nazarene through their transition from NAIA into NCAA Division II and the Great American Conference, reaching the conference tournament last season for the first time
- Became the fastest coach in school history to reach 100 wins in 2012 and he is recently reached the 150-victory plateau at the school
- Led the Storm to three NAIA National Tournament appearances and four straight 20-win seasons before starting the NCAA transition
- Previously coached at the United States Military Academy after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at SNU
 
The Series
GAC History Only
      Date                Location                            Score             
      *12/15/2012     Bethany, Okla.                  W 63-54
      *1/24/2013       Weatherford, Okla.           L 63-67
      *1/23/2014       Bethany, Okla.                  W 83-77
      *2/25/2014       Weatherford, Okla.           W 73-58
      *12/13/2014     Weatherford, Okla.           L 65-74
      *1/29/2015       Bethany, Okla.                  L 57-71
      *1/16/16           Bethany, Okla.                  L 77-82
*GAC Conference Meeting
 
Last Time Out
- East Central used a large scoring run in both halves to race past SWOSU for an 89-64 victory in Ada on Thursday night
- Martell Collins had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but it was not enough as SWOSU trailed by double figures for most of the second half
- Markeise Champion had 12 points and Collin Jennings chipped in 11, but no other Bulldog player had more than six points in the contest
 
SWOSU Notes
- Martell Collins has now scored 20 points or more in seven of the last nine games, raising his scoring average to 18.4 points per game for the year and he leads the league with 19.9points per game in conference games
- Collin Jennings has scored in double figures in three straight games, tying his longest such streak this season and raising his scoring average to 9.3 points per game for the season
- Markeise Champion ranks fifth in NCAA Division II with 77 made three-point field goals (3.5/game) this season and he's SWOSU's second-leading scorer at 15.2 points per game
- Emeche Wells has recorded multiple steals in 15 games this season, ranking him 14th in the nation with 2.3 steals per game
- SWOSU ranks third in the league in field goal percentage defense (42.8%), but opponents are hitting 35.4% of their attempts from long range against the Dawgs
- Keyshawn Perkins returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing the past 12 games and he finished with two points in 12 minutes of action
- Juwan Newmen is the league's fourth-leading rebounder after grabbing six rebounds on Thursday, his 13th game this season with six or more boards
- With two blocked shots on Thursday, Ayo Ojo moved into sixth in the league with 25 blocks (1.1/game) for the year
 
Looking Ahead
- With four of their final five games on the road, SWOSU heads north to Alva on Monday to face Northwestern Oklahoma State
- The Bulldogs return home on Thursday evening for Senior Night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center as SWOSU faces Southeastern Oklahoma State