Box Score (html)
ALVA, Okla. – Percefull Fieldhouse remains an unfriendly location for the SWOSU Men's Basketball team after the Bulldogs fell to Northwestern Oklahoma State 86-75 on Monday evening.
SWOSU took control at the outset, opening the game on a 9-0 run and they would hold the lead for the first 13 minutes of the game before the Rangers tied the game at 29-29 with 6:25 to play before halftime. A three-pointer from
Markeise Champion with 3:19 to play in the half was the Dawgs only basket of the final 8:21 of the half as Northwestern pushed ahead for a 40-32 lead at the break.
Northwestern made it a 10-point lead at 43-33 early in the second half before the Bulldogs responded with an 11-0 run to take the lead at 44-43 on a lay-in from
Collin Jennings that took the game to the under 16 media timeout. After the timeout, Jennings was unable to convert the old fashioned three-point play and Northwestern went on a 17-2 run over the next four minutes to retake control of the game.
The resilient Bulldogs would continue to fight and got within five points on multiple occasions in the final minute, but it was too little too late as their cold spell earlier in the half left SWOSU facing too large of a deficit to overcome.
Collin Jennings led SWOSU with 16 points – all in the second half – along with five assists, two rebounds and two steals before fouling out in the final moments. He was one of three Bulldogs to foul out in the contest as the Dawgs were whistled for 31 fouls while Northwestern drew just 20 whistles.
Markeise Champion scored 15 points and
Devin Pugh added 11.
"I thought
Collin Jennings and
Geoffery Hightower really came to play tonight with a tough mindset," SWOSU Head Coach
Bob Battisti said in his postgame interview. "We played pretty well but we hit our draught in the second half after taking the lead and that's been happening to us all year. We'll move on and get ready to face Southeastern on Wednesday."
SWOSU (4-10, 1-7 GAC) returns to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Wednesday evening to face Southeastern Oklahoma State.
