WEATHERFORD, Okla. - With 16 seconds left on the clock in overtime and the game tied at 73-73, Damion Thornton nailed the go-ahead game winning 3-pointer to give SWOSU their first conference victory of the season.  

Thornton, playing in his first game of the season, had a big game and finished with a career high 36 points.

SWOSU shot the 3 ball very well early, going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and built a 14-6 advantage early in the game. The Bulldogs kept up their intensity and led 37-26 at halftime.

SWOSU made more than half of the 3-pointers they shot in the first half, going 8-of-15 from beyond the arc. Thornton scored 12 points in the first half including 2-for-2 from deep. Kamden Gipson scored nine points and was 3-of-5 from beyond the arch. The Bulldogs not only shot the 3-point ball well, but they scored well from the field and in the paint too, scoring 10 points inside the paint and shooting 46.4 percent overall as a team.

East Central slowly crept back into the game though. The Tigers opened the second half on a 10-4 run five minutes into the second half. The Tigers then tied the game at 45-45 with 13 minutes left in the game. 

The game went back and forth nearly the rest of the way. There were 10 lead changes and 10 ties throughout the game. Both teams had chances at the very end to take the lead, but neither capitalized and the game went into overtime.

East Central scored the first five points in overtime. However, SWOSU cut the lead to 71-69 with 1:47 left in the game. Thornton tied the game a few seconds later when SWOSU forced a turnover. With the game tied, Thornton snagged a rebound with 40 seconds left to play and inevitably knocked down the game winner shortly thereafter.

Gipson finished with 13 points and Chris Braggs, Jr. added 12. Mark Berry led the Bulldogs in rebounding with six boards.  

SWOSU improves to 2-5 on the season and is 1-2 in Great American Conference play. The Bulldogs will play their next game at home on Tuesday (Dec. 14) against Southern Nazarene.