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SENIOR DAY Henderson State (15-12, 10-11 GAC) at SWOSU (6-21, 3-18 GAC) Saturday, Feb. 25, 2:00 pm Stats | Audio | Video SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- The 2016-17 SWOSU Men's Basketball season will reach its conclusion on Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs host Henderson State in the season finale
- SWOSU has been eliminated from postseason contention and they will miss the Great American Conference Tournament for the first time since the formation of the league in 2011-12
- Saturday is also Senior Day for the Bulldogs, who will honor their lone senior, Markeise Champion, prior to tip off
- Tipoff of the doubleheader has been moved up to noon due to OSSAA Basketball games being hosted in the Pioneer Cellular Event Center later on Saturday
- SWOSU enters the game on a four-game losing slide and the Dawgs are 4-10 at home this season, including 3-10 inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
 
The Opponent
Henderson State (15-12, 10-11 GAC)
- Secured their spot in the 2017 GAC Tournament with an 87-79 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday evening
- Henderson State ranks fourth in the GAC in scoring offense (78.7 points per game) but ninth in scoring defense (75.6 points per game) for a scoring margin of +3.1
- Four players average better than 10 points per game for the Reddies: Kaylon Tappin (14.3 ppg), Chris Hawkins (12.7 ppg), Kevin Kozan (11.7 ppg) and Ben Marello (10.9 ppg)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (56-56, 4th season; 465-352 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 465-352 (.582) and he is 4-3 against Henderson State as the head coach at SWOSU
 
Henderson State: Jimmy Elgas (24-31, 2nd)
- Led the Reddies to a 9-19 record overall in his first season and his 2016-17 team is already on the verge of matching their win total from last season
- Elgas has an impressive resume which includes stops at numerous NCAA Division I programs, including Evansville, Utah, Kansas State and Texas State
 
Checking the Standings
- With a victory at Oklahoma Baptist last night, coupled with a loss by Arkansas Tech at East Central, Arkansas-Monticello has clinched at least a share of the 2016-17 Great American Conference Championship
- Arkansas Tech and East Central are now deadlocked for second place at 16-5, both within striking distance of sharing the conference title should UAM slip up on Saturday at Southern Nazarene
- SNU is locked into the No. 4 seed in the GAC Tournament with Harding, Ouachita, Henderson State and Southern Arkansas all battling for the final four spots
 
The Series
Date                Location                     Score
*1/5/2012         Arkadelphia, Ark.         L 80-86
*2/2/2012         Weatherford, Okla.      L 73-77
3/1/2012          Bartlesville, Okla.        W 81-60
*1/17/2013       Arkadelphia, Ark.        W 90-84
*2/21/2013       Weatherford, Okla.      L 55-59
*1/16/2014       Weatherford, Okla.     W 79-76
*2/20/2014       Arkadelphia, Ark.         W 79-74 (2 OT)
*1/15/2015       Arkadelphia, Ark.        W 73-60
*2/21/2015       Weatherford, Okla.     W 74-56
*1/7/2016         Weatherford, Okla.      L 52-77
*2/25/2016       Arkadelphia, Ark         L 56-75
*15/2017          Arkadelphia, Ark.        L 61-87
 
NCAA Division II Era: Series Tied 6-6
In Weatherford: Henderson State leads 3-2
In Arkadelphia: Series Tied 3-3
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU tied the single-game school record with 18 made three-pointers against Ouachita, a record previously set twice during the 2006-07 season
- Devin Pugh scored a career-high 30 points on Thursday against Ouachita, the 32nd 30-point game by a SWOSU player in the NCAA era and the second by a Bulldog this year (Markeise Champion, 35 points vs Harding, Jan. 26)
- Champion added 15 points on 4-for-14 shooting from long range and his team-leading scoring average sits at 15.2 points per game heading into the season finale
- In just two seasons with the Bulldogs, Champion has moved into second place for career three-pointers at SWOSU (170) and he's up to eighth in career points for the NCAA era with 798
- With 80 made three-pointers this season, Champion has the sixth-most in a single season at SWOSU during the NCAA era after setting the record at 90 last season
- SWOSU has connected on 257 three's this season, the fourth-most in school history for a single season
- Geoffery Hightower reached double figures in scoring for the second time in the past four games with 12 points on 4-for-6 three-point shooting against Ouachita