ALVA, Okla. – Kamden Gipson hit a three-pointer at the overtime buzzer to lift SWOSU past Northwestern Oklahoma State 76-74. The victory is the Bulldogs first over the Rangers at Percefull Fieldhouse in Alva since 1996.
SWOSU opened both halves on a big run and led by as many as 12 early in the second half, but Northwestern battled back and took their first lead with 4:40 to play and they led multiple times in the closing minute. After
Damion Thornton hit 1-of-2 free throws with three seconds to play, putting SWOSU up 64-62, it appeared the Dawgs had the game in hand, but a foul call sent Northwestern to the free throw line, where they tied it at 64-64 to force overtime.
With 1:09 to play in overtime, SWOSU trailed 73-70, but they quickly pulled into a tie with 21 seconds to play on a runout layup from
Bralyn James. Northwestern went to the line with five seconds to play and hit 1-of-2, which set the stage for Gipson's heroics. Thornton brought the ball up and found Gipson in the corner for a three-pointer that beat the buzzer and sent the Bulldogs home victorious for the first time in nine tries.
Thornton led the way for SWOSU with 29 points and 14 rebounds while Gipson also had a strong outing with 16 points and three rebounds.
After snapping a nine-game losing streak at Northwestern, the Bulldogs improve to 12-11 on the year and 8-9 in Great American Conference play ahead of their trip to Bethany on Saturday to meet Southern Nazarene.
