---

Ouachita (12-12, 10-10 GAC) at SWOSU (6-20, 3-17 GAC) Thursday, Feb. 23, 7:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Stats | Video | Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Men's Basketball looks to snap a three-game slide on Thursday evening as they host Ouachita at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The Bulldogs are 4-9 at home this year, including a 2-7 mark in conference home games with one of those victories (Southern Arkansas) taking place in Rankin Williams Fieldhouse
- Ouachita defeated the Bulldogs 80-62 on January 7th in Arkadelphia and the Tigers enter Thursday's game tied for sixth in the GAC at 10-10
- SWOSU is looking to avoid a season sweep against the Tigers for the second time in the past three seasons and they hope to stop a two-game streak of home games lost to Ouachita
- The series between SWOSU and Ouachita is even at 6-6 since the teams helped form the Great American conference, with Ouachita having won four of the last six meetings
 
The Opponent
Ouachita (12-12, 10-10 GAC)
- The Tigers have lost three of their last four games, dropping their record to 12-12 but they've already secured their spot in the GAC Tournament at 10-10 in league play
- Ouachita is ranked seventh in the league in scoring (75.8 points per game) while their opponents are held to 74.2 points per game for a scoring margin of +1.5
- Leading the Tigers offensively are Lakee Westbrook (17.9 points per game), Justin McCleary (14.1 ppg) and Carven Holcombe (11.4 ppg)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (56-55, 4th season; 465-351 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 465-351 (.582) and he is 4-4 against Ouachita as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Ouachita: Dennis Nutt (66-56, 6th season)
- Now in his sixth season at Ouachita, Nutt has led the Tigers to two GAC Tournament Championships (2013, 2016) and the NCAA Division II National Tournament in 2016
- A former NBA player with the Dallas Mavericks, Nutt was the head coach at Texas State from 2000-06 and an assistant at Coastal Carolina, Arkansas State and Westark CC
 
Checking the Standings
- Arkansas Tech and 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, two games 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
*1/7/2012         Arkadelphia, Ark.         L 56-68
*2/5/2012         Weatherford, Okla.     W 79-53
*1/19/2013       Arkadelphia, Ark.         L 52-58
*2/23/2013       Weatherford, Okla.     W 75-63
*1/18/2014       Weatherford, Okla.     W 72-68
*2/22/2014       Arkadelphia, Ark.        W 67-63
*1/8/2015         Weatherford, Okla.      L 58-66
*2/12/2015       Arkadelphia, Ark.         L 63-89
3/6/2015          Bartlesville, Okla.         W 71-67 (OT)
*1/9/2016         Weatherford, Okla.      L 62-73
*2/27/2016       Arkadelphia, Ark.        W 81-74
*1/7/2017         Arkadelphia, Ark.        L 62-80
 
NCAA Division II Era: Series Tied 6-6
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 3-2
In Arkadelphia: Series Tied 3-3
 
SWOSU Notes
- In Monday's game against Southern Nazarene, SWOSU failed to have any player reach double figures in scoring for the first time since November 27, 2004 against West Texas A&M (W, 50-47, OT)
- Dominique Lubin became the seventh different player to lead SWOSU in scoring this season with a team-high nine points against Southern Nazarene
- Markeise Champion was held to seven points by SNU on Monday, marking just the second time in the past 13 games he failed to reach the 10-point mark
- SWOSU's current field goal percentage of 39.2% (624-1591) ranks as the school's worst single-season shooting percentage of the NCAA Division II era (1997-present)
- Champion ranks second in career three-pointers made at SWOSU with 166, trailing only Clarke Hale, who made 182 in his career from 2006-09
- Champion is also climbing up the scoring leaderboard for the NCAA era, currently ranking ninth with 783 points, four behind Kenyan Borders (787, 2015-17) for eighth
- In 20 seasons as an NCAA institution, SWOSU has shot less than 40% from the field as a team just twice (2014-15 & 2016-17)
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will conclude the 2016-17 season on Saturday, hosting Henderson State at noon for Senior Day at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center