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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Basketball makes their first Arkansas road trip of 2018, beginning with a visit to Henderson State on Thursday night in Arkadelphia
- The Bulldogs are looking to snap a seven-game slide that includes two losses by two points or fewer
- SWOSU finished the first half of the Great American Conference schedule at 1-10, which included a late 76-73 loss to Henderson State in Weatherford back on October 18th
- Henderson State is tied for ninth in the GAC standings at 4-7 after picking up an 81-79 victory over Ouachita on Tuesday evening
- SWOSU is 1-5 in true road games this year, with their lone conference victory coming at Harding
 
The Opponent
Henderson State (9-8, 4-7 GAC)
- The Reddies have alternated wins and losses in their last five games, improving to 4-7 in conference play at the halfway mark
- Fourth-ranked scoring offense in the GAC, averaging 82.3 points per game while allowing their opponents to score 79.8 points per contest
- HSU is led by Kaylon Tappin, who leads the GAC in scoring at 19.5 points per game and posted 33 points in the first meeting between the teams
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kris Johnson (1-7, 1st season) * Interim
- Named the interim head coach at SWOSU for the remainder of the 2017-18 season on December 13 following the retirement of head coach Bob Battisti
- Now in his seventh season as an assistant coach at SWOSU, including the last four-plus years as the lead assistant to Battisti
- A native of Kansas City, Mo., Johnson came to SWOSU following a four-year playing career at Northwestern Oklahoma State
 
Henderson State: Jimmy Elgas (34-39, 3rd season)
- Led the Reddies to a seven-win improvement in his second season, finishing 16-13 and returning to the GAC Tournament for the first time since 2013-14
- 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 their victory over SWOSU on Wednesday, Southern Nazarene became the first men's basketball team in league history to open Great American Conference play 11-0
- The Crimson Storm have opened up a three-game lead on Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southeastern Oklahoma State at the midway point of the league schedule
- East Central (7-4), Arkansas-Monticello (6-5) and Southern Arkansas (6-5) are all above .500 to round out the top half of the standings
- Arkansas Tech and Oklahoma Baptist are tied for seventh at 5-6 while Henderson State and Ouachita are tied for ninth at 4-7
- SWOSU and Harding sit tied for 11th place in the standings at 1-10
 
The Series (GAC Era)
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
*1/5/2017         Arkadelphia, Ark.        L 61-87
*2/25/2017       Weatherford, Okla.     L 91-97
*11/18/2017     Weatherford, Okla.     L 73-76
 
GAC Era: Henderson State leads 8-6
In Weatherford: Henderson State leads 5-2
In Arkadelphia: Series Tied 3-3
 
SWOSU Notes
- One game after being held to a season low in scoring, the Bulldogs scored a season-high 96 points in Saturday's setback at Oklahoma Baptist
- The scoring effort for the Bulldogs was the program's highest scoring game in almost two years, dating back to a 103-92 victory at Arkansas-Monticello on February 4, 2016
- Charles Beauregard, Jr., and Devin Pugh combined to score 60 points for the Bulldogs, both setting new season highs with 31 and 29 points, respectively
- Beauregard has now scored 20 or more points in four straight games, raising his scoring average to 18.1 points per game for the year
- Pugh reached the 20-point scoring mark for just the second time this season and he is now averaging 12.1 points per game for the year
- Nick Shoemaker extended his streak of games with a made three-pointer to 32 after hitting 3-of-8 attempts from long range against Oklahoma Baptist
- Also on Saturday, Shoemaker passed Zac Howe (2009-12) for seventh place on the career three-point field goals list and he enters the weekend with 131 made threes
- Cooper Battisti and Luke Lewallen both scored a season-high 10 points off the bench on Saturday against Oklahoma Baptist
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs conclude their weekend road trip on Saturday, heading across the street in Arkadelphia to face Ouachita beginning at 3:00 pm
- SWOSU will be back at home to open the month of February by hosting Harding (Feb. 1) and Arkansas Tech (Feb. 3)