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GAC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS (5) Southern Arkansas (16-12) vs. (4) SWOSU (17-11) Thursday, March 3, 8:00 pm Bartlesville, Okla. (Bruin Fieldhouse) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- SWOSU Basketball enters the Great American Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed and the Bulldogs will meet No. 5-seed Southern Arkansas at 8:00 pm on Thursday night in Bartlesville
- The game is a rematch of a GAC Quarterfinal matchup from 2014, a game won by Southern Arkansas 63-59 and the only other time the Bulldogs earned a top-four seed to the tournament
- The Bulldogs are 4-4 at the GAC Tournament all-time, including a 3-1 record in the quarterfinals, with their lone loss coming to Southern Arkansas
- In eight previous games played at the conference tournament, SWOSU has never matched up with a league foe from Oklahoma
- SWOSU swept the season series against Southern Arkansas, claiming a 77-74 victory over the Muleriders in Magnolia before taking the lead late to defeat SAU 71-69 last month in Weatherford
- The Bulldogs have won three straight games in the series against SAU overall, but the Muleriders own a victory in the lone postseason meeting between the teams
- In four prior GAC Tournaments, the No. 4 seed is 1-3 in quarterfinal matchups against the No. 5 seed, including three straight opening round wins for the No. 5 seed
 
The Opponent
Southern Arkansas (16-12)
- Finished tied for fourth place in the final GAC standings with SWOSU at 13-9 and they enter the conference tournament on a three-game winning streak
- Fourth-highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 76.8 points while holding opponents to 73.9 points per game
- Ranked second in the league in field goal percentage (46.9%) and third in field goal percentage defense (43.2%)
- SAU is the top rebounding team in the league, averaging 40.8 boards per game, including a league-leading 12.3 offensive rebounds per game
- Five players average 10 points per game or better, led by Jaron Davis, who averages 12.4 points per game for the season and he had 14.0 ppg in two games against SWOSU this season
- Post players Alvin Braddock and Denarious Lockhart both average exactly 10 points per game and they lead the Muleriders with 6.5 and 7.9 rebounds per game, respectively
- Braddock leads the GAC with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game and he's second in the league with a field goal percentage of 60.9% (120-for-197)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (50-34, 3rd season; 459-330 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 459-330 (.582) and he is 1-2 at the conference tournament as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Southern Arkansas: Andy Sharpe (53-57, 4th season)
- In his fourth season as the head coach at Southern Arkansas, where he has helped the Muleriders increase their win total in each season
- Led the Muleriders to their first winning season since 2001-02 last season, winning 15 games and tying for third place in the GAC standings
- Came to SAU from Martin Methodist College, where he made three trips to the NAIA National Tournament in five seasons, including a Final Four run in 2011
 
The Series
GAC History Only
      Date                Location                            Score             
      *1/21/2012       Magnolia, Ark.                   W 62-56
      *2/18/2012       Weatherford, Okla.           W 74-65
      *12/1/2012       Weatherford, Okla.           W 61-58
      *1/31/2013       Magnolia, Ark.                   L 66-69 (OT)
      *11/23/2013     Magnolia, Ark.                   W 76-68
      *1/30/2014       Weatherford, Okla.           W 72-63
      3/6/2014          Bartlesville, Okla.              L 59-63
      *1/10/2015       Weatherford, Okla.           L 73-81
      *2/14/2015       Magnolia, Ark.                   W 76-70
      *12/5/2015       Magnolia, Ark.                   W 77-74
      *2/6/2016         Weatherford, Okla.           W 71-69
*GAC Conference Meeting
 
The Season Series
- SWOSU swept the season series against Southern Arkansas, winning two close games by a combined five points
- Martell Collins led the Bulldogs, averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game against the Muleriders, including the game-winning three-pointer in the game played in Weatherford
- Three other players averaged better than 10 points against SAU, including Markeise Champion (13.5 ppg), Collin Jennings (13.0) and Emeche Wells (10.5)
 
SWOSU Notes
- Having scored a combined 19 points in the four previous games, SWOSU's Markeise Champion led the team to an 81-74 victory at Ouachita with 22 points, his highest scoring outing in seven games
- Champion is the Bulldogs second-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points per game and he's made 88 three-pointers to lead the GAC and rank tied for second in a single season at SWOSU (Corey Harbert, 94, 1996-97)
- Emeche Wells has picked up his scoring efforts down the stretch with 10 or more points in four straight games and five of the last six after being held to eight points or less in nine previous games
- Nick Shoemaker returns to his native Bartlesville for the GAC Tournament for the first time and the redshirt freshman averaged is averaging 5.1 points per game and ranks fourth on the team with 38 made three-pointers
- Juwan Newmen recorded two double-doubles for SWOSU to close out the regular season, ending the year ranked third in the GAC with 8.5 rebounds per game
- Collin Jennings has made at least one three-pointer in 17 straight games and he's SWOSU's fourth-leading scorer with an average of 9.3 points per game
 
Looking Ahead
- The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal moves on to the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament to face the winner between Harding and Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday at 2:15