TOPEKA, Kan. – Damion Thornton and Chris Braggs, Jr., combined for 44 points as they led SWOSU to a 92-83 victory over Newman on Saturday afternoon at the Washburn Thanksgiving Classic in Topeka.
 
The Bulldogs built a 45-38 lead at the break after leading by as many as 13 in the first half. SWOSU hit 16-of-29 field goal attempts in the half and all 11 free throws they attempted which helped offset a slow start from behind the arc, where they connected on just 2-of-11 attempts in the first 20 minutes.
 
Newman opened the second half on a 12-6 run that made it a one-point game at 51-50 with 17:07 to play, but the Bulldogs never relinquished the lead. The Jets got within two points on multiple occasions in the second half, but a 7-0 run put SWOSU back on top by 10, 72-62, with 9:45 to play and Newman never got any closer than within three the rest of the game.
 
All 11 players who appeared in the game for SWOSU hit at least one shot and scored three or more points as the balanced offensive attack again led the way for the Dawgs. Thornton and Braggs did the bulk of the damage, with Thornton pacing the Dawgs with 24 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes of action while Braggs had 20 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
 
SWOSU is now 5-3 on the year to match their win total from last season in the final non-conference game of the season. The Bulldogs will be back home at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center next Saturday (Dec. 7) to host reigning conference champion Southern Nazarene at 3:00 pm.