Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU outscored Northwestern Oklahoma State 36-18 over the final 14:36 to overcome a 12-point deficit and pick up a 73-67 rivalry victory on Monday night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center in Weatherford.
SWOSU got 23 points from senior
Markeise Champion and a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds from
Devin Pugh, with the duo scoring the final nine points of the game for the Bulldogs. They also helped the Dawgs come back after going down 49-37 on a three-pointer by NWOSU's Cody Halvorson with 14:36 to play. Champion and Pugh scored every point of a 10-0 run by the Bulldogs that got SWOSU within two at 49-47 with 12:00 minutes to play on a Champion three pointer.
The Bulldogs finally got the score squared up at 54-54 before Pugh hit the second of back-to-back three's to give SWOSU their first lead of the game at 57-56 with 8:38 to play. Northwestern regained the lead and had a three-point edge of 62-59 with 4:29 to play until another 10-0 run by the Bulldogs – highlighted by two spectacular three-point makes from Champion – pushed SWOSU to the brink of victory with a 69-62 edge and less than one minute to play.
Northwestern got back within four at 69-65, but Champion and Pugh salted the game away by combining to hit all six of their free throw attempts in the final 60 seconds.
The final line for Champion was 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range. He also added six rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes of action. Pugh also did his part in multiple areas, securing his first double-double as a Bulldog with 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds along with a season-high three blocked shots as well. The former junior college teammates combined to score 34 of SWOSU's 43 points in the second half and Pugh recorded a double-double in the second half alone with 14 points and 12 rebounds in 18 second-half minutes.
"This was a great gut-check win for our guys to overcome a 12-point deficit in the second half," SWOSU Head Coach
Bob Battisti said. "Our senior leader,
Markeise Champion, played like a senior who wanted to win his last rivalry game and he and
Devin Pugh made winning plays tonight. Hopefully that ignites us for the last five games of the season."
SWOSU (6-17, 3-14 GAC) returns to action on Thursday evening, hosting Oklahoma Baptist at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center in a game set to tip off at 7:30 pm.
