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East Central (16-6, 12-4 GAC) at SWOSU (5-16, 2-13 GAC) Saturday, Feb. 11, 3:00 pm Stats | Video | Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Basketball returns home for six of their final seven contests to close the 2016-17 season, beginning on Saturday afternoon as they welcome East Central to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The game is played on Hall of Fame Weekend in Weatherford, with three individuals being inducted into the SWOSU Athletics Hall of Fame prior to the basketball doubleheader
- The Bulldogs are looking to snap a five-game slide, but they will be facing an East Central team that is currently tied for second place in the GAC standings at 12-4
- East Central has won three straight meetings over the Bulldogs after SWOSU had earned four straight victories over the Tigers during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons
- The Tigers defeated SWOSU 77-54 on January 12th in Ada, evening the series in the GAC era at 3-3 in Ada, but the Bulldogs are 4-1 in that time frame against ECU in Weatherford
 
The Opponent
East Central (16-6, 12-4 GAC)
- Winners of two straight games and four of their last five to move into a tie for second place in the league standings with Arkansas Tech
- ECU is the third-highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 81.1 points per game while limiting opponents to 73.0 points per game for a scoring margin of +8.1
- Two-time GAC Player of the Week Braxton Reeves leads the Tigers with a league-leading 22.2 points per game and 84 made three-point attempts
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (55-51, 4th season; 463-345 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 464-347 (.582) and he is 4-3 against East Central as the head coach at SWOSU
 
East Central: Ja Havens (74-36, 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
- #17/15 Arkansas-Monticello is 14-2 in GAC play and they have a two-game lead on the field with six games remaining in the regular season
- Arkansas Tech and East Central are tied for second place at 12-4, two games clear of Harding at 10-6 in fourth place
- Southern Nazarene and Ouachita each have nine conference wins to hold down fifth and sixth places, one game ahead of Henderson State for seventh at 8-8
- Southern Arkansas currently holds down the eighth and final spot for the GAC Tournament, but they are now just one game ahead of Northwestern Oklahoma State for that position
 
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
*1/12/2017       Ada, Okla.                   L 54-77
 
GAC Era: SWOSU leads 7-4
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 4-1
In Ada: Series Tied 3-3
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU concludes the 2016-17 season with six of their final seven games being played at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center, where the Bulldogs are 2-6 this season
- The Bulldogs are 3-6 overall at home, with their games being decided by an average of 5.0 points per game in Weatherford
- Markeise Champion continues to pace the Bulldogs offensively, having led SWOSU in scoring during six of their last seven games after putting up 18 points at Southern Nazarene
- Champion is now averaging 14.2 points per game and he also leads the Bulldogs with 48 assists (2.3 per game) for the year
- Devin Pugh snapped a two-game streak with less than 10 points by scoring 12 at SNU and he currently ranks second on the team with 13.1 points per game
- Reshardd Harris is SWOSU's third-leading scorer with 9.5 points per game and he leads the Dawgs in rebounding (4.7 per game) despite not grabbing a rebound on Thursday at Southern Nazarene
- Altez Davis returned to the starting lineup on Thursday for the first time since November, but he was limited to two points and two rebounds in 15 minutes of action
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs will play three games next week, starting with a home contest against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Rivalry Monday in the GAC
- SWOSU then hosts Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday before heading to Durant on Saturday to meet Southeastern Oklahoma State