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SWOSU (4-8, 1-5 GAC) at East Central (8-4, 4-2 GAC) Thursday, Jan. 12, 7:30 pm Ada, Okla. (Kerr Activities Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game (notes)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Men's Basketball completes a three-game road trip on Thursday evening with a trip to the Kerr Activities Center in Ada, Okla., to face East Central
- The Bulldogs went 0-2 last weekend during a trip to Arkadelphia, having their four-game winning streak snapped by Henderson State and Ouachita
- East Central enters the game as one of the hottest teams in the conference, having won eight straight games since beginning the year 0-4
- SWOSU is 1-5 in true road games this season and they are 1-5 in conference play, a mark that has the Dawgs tied with Oklahoma Baptist for ninth place in the league
- As GAC members, SWOSU is 3-2 in trips to Ada, but the Tigers were victorious by a score of 89-64 last season when the teams met
- East Central swept the season series over SWOSU last season after the Bulldogs swept the Tigers in the two previous seasons
 
The Opponent
East Central (8-4, 4-2 GAC)
- Riding the second-longest current winning streak in the Great American Conference, having won eight straight games dating back to November 25th
- Fourth-highest scoring team in the GAC, averaging 79.2 points per game on the year and 82.0 points per contest in conference play
- Led by the GAC's leading scorer Braxton Reeves, who averages 22.3 points per game and scored a league-record 45 points earlier this season against Cameron
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (54-43, 4th season; 463-339 career, 28th season)
- In his fourth season as the head coach of the Bulldogs, having led SWOSU to at least 16 wins in each of his first three years at the helm
- Has coached five players at SWOSU that earned All-GAC distinction, including one GAC Player of the Year (Rod Camphor) and one GAC Defensive Player of the Year (Michael Bradley)
- 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 463-338 (.582) and he is 4-2 against East Central as the head coach at SWOSU
 
East Central: Ja Havens (66-34, 4th season)
- Named the seventh coach in East Central men's basketball history in April of 2013 and he's led the Tigers to back-to-back 20-win seasons
- Havens spent eight years as an assistant coach at Drury prior to taking the head job at ECU, helping the Panthers claim the 2013 NCAA Division II National Championship
 
Checking the Standings
- Arkansas-Monticello remains atop the standings and moved into both national rankings after opening the year 10-0, with a 6-0 mark in league play
- Henderson State is on a six-game winning streak and the Reddies are one game behind UAM at 5-1 in conference games
- The standings get crowded at the third spot, where five teams - including East Central - are currently 4-2 and two games out of the top spot
- Arkansas Tech is alone in eighth place in the standings at 3-3, two games ahead of SWOSU and Oklahoma Baptist at 1-5
 
The Series
Date                Location                     Score
*1/23/2012       Weatherford, Okla.     W 73-50
*2/20/2012       Ada, Okla.                   W 82-81 (OT)
*1/12/2013       Weatherford, Okla.     W 64-61
*2/14/2013       Ada, Okla.                   L 61-72
*1/11/2014       Ada, Okla.                   W 55-43
*2/13/2014       Weatherford, Okla.     W 80-65
*12/4/2014       Ada, Okla.                   W 58-57
*1/31/2015       Weatherford, Okla.     W 78-66
*1/14/2016       Weatherford, Okla.     L 65-77
*2/11/2016       Ada, Okla.                   L 64-89
 
GAC Era: SWOSU leads 7-3
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 4-1
In Ada: SWOSU leads 3-2
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU averaged 61.5 points per game during their two games last weekend, dropping their season scoring average to 69.0 points per game for the season
- The Bulldogs are the lowest-scoring team in the Great American Conference this season and their scoring is lower in conference games with 66.3 points per game
- SWOSU has used a new starting lineup in each of the last four games and they've started eight different variations of players in 12 games this season
- Devin Pugh and Reshardd Harris have each started 11 games this season and they are the first and third-leading scorers on the team with 14.5 and 9.4 points per game, respectively
- Pugh led the Bulldogs in scoring in both games last weekend and his season scoring average of 14.5 points per game ranks 13th in the GAC
- Markeise Champion was held to a combined 10 points against Henderson State and Ouachita, dropping his season average to 11.1 points per game
- Luke Lewallen reached double figures in scoring for the second time this season with 10 points at Ouachita and he averaged 9.5 points per game on the road trip
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs return to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday afternoon for a contest against Southern Nazarene
- A busy week continues for SWOSU on Monday with a trip to Alva to face Northwestern Oklahoma State before coming back home on Wednesday to host Southeastern