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NCAA DIVISION II BASKETBALL SHOWCASE Arkansas Tech (12-4, 8-4 GAC) at SWOSU (5-12, 2-9 GAC) Saturday, January 28, 1:00 pm Stats | Video | Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- The NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase descends upon the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs host Arkansas Tech at 1:00 pm
- The game will be broadcast by the American Sports Network, with Darren Goldwater (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (analyst) on the call, and it will also be aired live on NCAA.com
- This will mark the first nationally televised game emanating from the Pioneer Cellular Event Center, which opened on January 25, 2014
- SWOSU enters the contest following an 83-76 setback against Harding on Thursday evening while Arkansas Tech brings a three-game winning streak to town
- With Thursday's defeat, the Bulldogs are now 3-5 on their home floor this season, but 2-5 inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center with December 3 victory over Southern Arkansas being played at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse
 
The Opponent
Arkansas Tech (12-4, 8-4 GAC)
- Riding a three-game win streak that includes victories over Henderson State, Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Arkansas Tech is the highest-scoring team in the GAC with 88.2 points per game, but they also allow the most points in the league (83.1 ppg)
- Four players are averaging better than 10 points per game for ATU: Alex Brown (15.1 ppg), Justin Graham (13.1), Montrell Williams (13.0), Bennie Lufile (12.3)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (55-47, 4th season; 463-342 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 27 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 464-343 (.582) and he is 2-6 against Arkansas Tech as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Arkansas Tech: Chad Kline (45-32, 3rd season)
- Now in his third season leading the Wonder Boy basketball program, where he led ATU to a 33-28 record and one GAC Tournament Championship in his first two years
- Spent three years as an assistant to former Arkansas Tech head coach Doug Karleskint before taking over the program
 
Checking the Standings
- #18/12 Arkansas-Monticello suffered their second straight setback on Thursday night, falling to East Central, who is now just one game out of first place in the standings
- Arkansas Tech and Harding remain one game behind the Tigers at 8-4 while Henderson State is alone in fifth at 7-5
- Southern Nazarene, Ouachita and Southern Arkansas all have six conference wins, giving them a two-game lead over the final four teams in the standings
- Northwestern and Southeastern are tied at 4-8, two wins ahead of SWOSU for ninth place in conference with 10 games to play
 
The Series
Date                Location                     Score
*1/12/2012       Weatherford, Okla.      L 72-78
*2/9/2012         Russellville, Ark.          L 73-80
3/4/2012          Bartlesville, Okla.         L 58-69
*1/5/2013         Russellville, Ark.          L 52-69
*2/7/2013         Weatherford, Okla.      L 57-60
3/9/2013          Bartlesville, Okla.         L 51-56
*1/4/2014         Weatherford, Okla.     W 63-38
*2/6/2014         Russellville, Ark.          L 77-85
*12/17/2014     Russellville, Ark.          L 65-69
*2/5/2014         Weatherford, Okla.      L 65-69
3/7/2015          Bartlesville, Okla.         L 74-85
*11/19/2015     Weatherford, Okla.     W 88-63
*1/28/2016       Russellville, Ark.          L 78-82
*11/17/2016     Russellville, Ark.         L 67-84
 
GAC Era: Arkansas Tech leads 10-2
In Weatherford: Arkansas Tech leads 3-2
In Russellville: Arkansas Tech leads 6-0
In Bartlesville: Arkansas Tech leads 3-0
 
SWOSU Notes
- Markeise Champion set a new career-high with 35 points on Thursday against Harding, setting a new single-game record by a Bulldog inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- Champion tied the NCAA Division II era school record with nine three-pointers made, matching the mark of Kevin Ritter (2001) and Derrick Bogay (1998)
- The 35 points scored by Champion is the most by a Bulldog since Rod Camphor went for 36 points in the quarterfinals of the 2013 GAC Tournament against Arkansas-Monticello and it was the first 30-point performance by a SWOSU player since Trent Washington had 30 against Northwestern Oklahoma State on February 26, 2015
- Over the past four games, Champion is averaging 23.5 points per game and he is now the team's leading scorer with 13.6 points per game for the year
- Dominique Lubin set a new career-high with 16 rebounds against Harding, the most grabbed by a SWOSU player in a single game this season
- For the second consecutive game, Collin Jennings set a new career-high in rebounding, pulling down 10 against Harding after collecting nine at Oklahoma Baptist last Saturday
- Devin Pugh scored 10 points against Harding, his 10th double figure scoring game in the last 11 games and he's second on the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs are on the road for three straight games before returning home for six of the final seven games of the regular season
- Next weekend, SWOSU is off to Arkansas to face Southern Arkansas on Thursday before heading to league-leading Arkansas-Monticello next Saturday