Setting the Scene
- Bulldog Men's Basketball opens the 2019 calendar year at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Thursday evening, taking on Arkansas-Monticello
- SWOSU enters the game following a 99-88 victory over Randall on Saturday afternoon while UAM is the hottest team in the GAC with five consecutive wins to their credit
- The Bulldogs went 2-3 in the month of December and they are concluding a stretch that will see them playing six-of-seven games at home
- The contest will pit SWOSU's top scoring offense in the Great American Conference (85.3 ppg) against the Weevils league-leading scoring defense (61.1 ppg)
- UAM has swept the season series against the Bulldogs in each of the past two seasons, following a stretch that saw SWOSU win four straight against the Weevils
 
About the Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (7-3, 3-1 GAC)
- The Weevils suffered a 75-67 setback at NCAA Division II Alabama-Birmingham last Saturday, but they've won their last five regular season games
- UAM has won three-straight conference games, defeating Ouachita, Arkansas Tech and Henderson State after losing their conference opener at Harding
- Weevil Basketball features the lowest-scoring offense in the league at 71.5 points per game, but they have the top scoring defense and allow just 61.1 points per to opponents
- Kyle Tolin is in his fifth year at the helm of the Weevils, leading them to a share of the regular season conference championship and an NCAA Division II national tournament berth in 2017
- Former SWOSU assistant coach Kris Johnson, who served as the Bulldogs interim head coach last season, is in his first season as an assistant at UAM
 
The Series

Date	Location	Score
11/24/87	Tahlequah, Okla.	W, 79-59
1/19/12	*Monticello	L, 82-86
2/16/12	*Weatherford	L, 54-65
3/3/12	Bartlesville, Okla.	W, 79-76
11/29/12	*Weatherford	W, 68-59
2/2/13	*Monticello	W, 71-70
3/8/13	Bartlesville, Okla.	W, 77-69 (OT)
11/21/13	*Monticello	W, 74-65
2/1/14	*Weatherford	L, 52-68
1/17/15	*Monticello	W, 70-63 (OT)
2/19/14	*Weatherford	W, 83-81
12/3/15	*Monticello	W, 71-66
2/4/16	*Weatherford	W, 103-92
12/1/16	*Weatherford	L, 78-79
2/4/17	*Monticello	L, 70-101
1/4/18	*Weatherford	L, 73-82
2/10/18	*Monticello	L, 82-87
All-Time: SWOSU leads 10-7
NCAA Division II Era: SWOSU leads 9-7
In Weatherford: UAM leads 4-3
In Monticello: SWOSU leads 4-3
Neutral: SWOSU leads 3-0
at Pioneer Cellular Event Center: UAM leads 3-2

 
SWOSU Notes
- With 99 points scored in the win over Randall, the Bulldogs had their highest scoring output in the past six games and upped their league-leading scoring average to 85.3 points per game for the year
- Nick Shoemaker broke out of his shooting slump in a big way, knocking down 5-of-6 three-point attempts to finish with 15 points and five rebounds in the win over Randall
- Shoemaker now has 166 made three pointers in his career, which ranks him third in program history behind Clarke Hale (182; 2006-09) and Markeise Champion (170; 2015-17)
- SWOSU's leading scorer Tre Evans was limited to a season-low three made field goals against Randall, but he still managed to finish with 19 points after connecting on 13-of-15 free throw attempts
- Evans ranks sixth in NCAA Division II with a scoring average of 26.3 points per game, having scored 20 or more points in seven-of-nine games played this season
- Kamden Gipson made his second consecutive start against Randall and finished 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown for 16 points while matching a career high with five assists
- Chris Braggs, Jr., reached double figures in scoring for the first time in five games after posting 12 points, three rebounds and two steals against Randall before fouling out
- Luke Lewallen was 2-for-2 from three-point range on Saturday and scored seven points while improving to 8-for-11 (72.7%) from long range this season
- Daniel Eibel has hit at least one three pointer in nine-of-ten games this season and seven consecutive after finishing 1-for-6 in the win over Randall
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU stays at home on Saturday afternoon to host Southern Arkansas at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for a 3:00 pm tipoff
- The next four games for the Bulldogs will be played on the road, including games in Arkadelphia against Ouachita (Jan. 10) and Henderson State (Jan. 12) next weekend