Setting the Scene
- Bulldog Basketball takes the momentum of their first victory of the 2018-19 season with them to Ada, where they will face East Central on Thursday evening
- This is the first Great American Conference contest for the Bulldogs under head coach Terry Evans, who is in his first season at SWOSU
- Thursday night's game will feature two of the top scoring teams in the league, with SWOSU entering in second at 89.8 points per game while ECU is fourth with an average of 85.5 points per
- SWOSU snapped a five-game losing streak to the Tigers with an 83-77 victory in Ada last February
- In addition to top scoring teams, the top two individuals in the GAC will go head-to-head on Thursday as SWOSU's Tre Evans (25.7 ppg) leads the conference while ECU will counter with Camron Talley (24.0 ppg)
 
About the Opponent
East Central (2-2, 0-0 GAC)
- The Tigers fell to 2-2 on the year after suffering a 92-84 setback at Pittsburg State last Friday
- ECU is 1-0 this season at home, defeating Bacone 109-71 on November 17 and they were one of the toughest home court teams in the GAC last season with a record of 9-4 at the Kerr Activities Center
- ECU's potent, high-scoring offensive attack is led by Camron Talley (24.0 ppg), but Da'Rion King (14.5) and Josh Hill (11.0) are both averaging double figures in scoring as well
- Leading the Tigers is sixth-year head coach Ja Havens, who has guided ECU to three 20-win seasons and recently won his 100th career game
 
The Series (GAC Era)

*1/23/12	Weatherford	W, 73-50
*2/20/12	Ada	W, 82-81 (OT)
*1/12/13	Weatherford	W, 64-61 (OT)
*2/14/13	Ada	L, 61-72
*1/11/14	Ada	W, 55-43
*2/13/14	Weatherford	W, 80-65
*12/4/14	Ada	W, 58-57
*1/31/15	Weatherford	W, 78-66
*1/14/16	Weatherford	L, 65-77
*2/11/16	Ada	L, 64-89
*1/12/17	Ada	L, 54-77
*2/11/17	Weatherford	L, 62-75
*1/11/18	Weatherford	L, 88-89
*2/17/18	Ada	W, 83-77
NCAA Era: SWOSU Leads 24-18
in Weatherford: SWOSU Leads 13-8
in Ada: SWOSU Leads 11-10
GAC Era: SWOSU Leads 8-6

 
SWOSU Notes
- Following back-to-back 28-point outings, Tre Evans has vaulted to the top of the GAC's scoring leaderboard with an average of 25.7 points per game for the season
- Evans recorded his first double-double in a Bulldog uniform after adding 10 assists in SWOSU's win over Cameron on Saturday afternoon
- Three other players are currently averaging double figures in scoring, with Jamar Sandifer chipping in 17.8 points per game while Chris Braggs, Jr., and Marcus Thomas are both at 10.5 points per contest
- Sandifer has posted at least 14 points in all four games this season and leads the Bulldogs with 11 steals while ranking third in rebounding (4.5 per game)
- Cheikh Fall set new season highs with 14 points and seven rebounds against Cameron, moving him into the team lead with 5.3 rebounds per game for the year
- Six different players scored in double figures in the win over Cameron, including Braggs, who came off the bench to score 12 points while the rest of the bench combined for 10 points
- Thomas is fourth in the GAC in made three-pointers with 12 (3.0 per game) and sixth in percentage, having hit 12-of-21 (57.1%) attempts in the first four games
- Nick Shoemaker knocked down his first three-pointer of the season on Saturday, giving him 161 for his career, which ranks third at SWOSU for the NCAA Division II era
- Shoemaker needs 10 more three-pointers to surpass former teammate Markeise Champion (170, 2015-17) for second place on that list
- Jefkins Agyeman-Budu had scored 10 or more points in back-to-back games, improving his average to 7.8 points per game this season
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU returns home on Saturday for their first conference home game as Southeastern Oklahoma State visits the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for a 3:00 pm tipoff
- The Bulldogs are on the road next Thursday (Dec. 6) for a matchup with Oklahoma Christian before hosting nationally-ranked Southern Nazarene on December 8th