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Southern Nazarene (15-10, 12-7 GAC) at  SWOSU (6-19, 3-16 GAC) Monday, Feb. 20, 7:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Stats | Video | Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Men's Basketball will play at home three times in the final week of the regular season, beginning on Monday night against Southern Nazarene
- The game was rescheduled from January 14th, when the teams were unable to play because of a winter weather storm in western Oklahoma
- SWOSU and Southern Nazarene will now be playing for the second time in just 11 days, with the Crimson Storm claiming an 85-69 victory on February 9th in Bethany
- SNU has won four of the last five meetings against the Bulldogs and the Crimson Storm lead the series 5-4 since joining the GAC for the 2012-13 season
- Southern Nazarene has clinched their postseason berth in the GAC Tournament and they're currently up to fourth place in the standings thanks to a three-game winning streak
- A two-game slide has dropped the Bulldogs to the conference cellar and SWOSU will miss the GAC Tournament this season for the first time in the conference's existence
 
The Opponent
Southern Nazarene (15-10, 12-7 GAC)
- The Crimson Storm have won three straight games and five of their last six after dismantling East Central 68-49 on Saturday in Ada
- SNU ranks fifth in the GAC in scoring with 76.8 points per game while leading the league by allowing just 69.8 points per game for a scoring margin of +7.0 ppg
- Three players average better than 10 points per game for the Crimson Storm: Jhonathan Dunn (13.8 ppg), LB Willis (12.5 ppg) and Deshon Portley (12.0 ppg)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (56-54, 4th season; 465-350 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 465-350 (.582) and he is 3-4 against Southern Nazarene as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Southern Nazarene: Adam Bohac (170-104, 9th season)
- Has guided the Crimson Storm through their transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II and led his team to back-to-back GAC Tournament appearances
- Fastest coach in school history to reach 100 wins and he has led SNU to four 20-win seasons and three NAIA National Tournament appearances
 
Checking the Standings
- Arkansas Tech and #16/12 Arkansas-Monticello enter the final weekend of the season tied atop the standings at 16-4 with ATU riding an 11-game winning streak
- East Central sits one game back of the duo, with an upcoming game against Arkansas Tech remaining on their schedule
- Southern Nazarene has moved into fourth in the standings, just ahead of Harding while Ouachita and Southern Arkansas are tied for sixth at 10-10
- Henderson State has a two-game lead for the eighth and final spot in the GAC Tournament, needing one win to lock up a berth and eliminate Northwestern Oklahoma State
 
The Series
Date                Location                     Score
*12/15/2012     Bethany, Okla.            W 63-54
*1/24/2013       Weatherford, Okla.     L 63-67
*1/23/2014       Bethany, Okla.            W 83-77
*2/25/2014       Weatherford, Okla.     W 73-58
*12/13/2014     Weatherford, Okla.     L 65-74
*1/29/2015       Bethany, Okla.            L 57-71
*1/16/2016       Bethany, Okla.            L 77-82
*2/13/2016       Weatherford, Okla.     W 80-75
*2/9/2017         Bethany, Okla.            L 59-85
 
GAC Era: SNU Leads 5-4
In Weatherford: Series Tied 2-2
In Bethany: SNU Leads 3-2
 
SWOSU Notes
- Geoffery Hightower led the Bulldogs in scoring for the first time this season with a career-high 16 points at Southeastern on Saturday
- Hightower was 5-of-9 from the field in the game as he reached double figures in scoring for the second time in the past four games
- Markeise Champion struggled from the field at Southeastern, but he still managed to extend his streak of double-figure scoring games to five with 10 points
- Champion has scored 10 or more points in 11 of the last 12 games and he's the Bulldogs leading scorer with 15.0 points per game for the year
- Nick Shoemaker was 4-for-10 from three-point range, scoring 12 points at Southeastern and he has now made at least one three-pointer in 12 straight games
- Altez Davis set a new season-high with seven points on 3-for-5 shooting on Saturday while grabbing two rebounds with one blocked shot
- Devin Pugh was held to a season-low two points by Southeastern and he's just 1-of-11 from three-point range over the past two games
- SWOSU has shot the fewest amount of free throws for any team in the GAC, hitting 291-of-450 (64.7%) shots from the stripe this season
 
Looking Ahead
- Just two games remain in the 2016-17 season, starting on Thursday evening with the Bulldogs hosting Ouachita
- SWOSU will host Henderson State on Saturday for Senior Day for Senior Day at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center