WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, accounting for 21 second chance points and got a strong 20-point, 13 rebound double-double from Ben Smith that helped propel them to a 63-60 victory over East Central on Saturday.
The Dawgs used a 15-3 run to close out the first half which built a 35-25 lead at the break. Through the first 20 minutes, both sides struggled at times to score though physical defense played a factor.
East Central entered Saturday with the GAC's highest team field goal percentage. SWOSU held the Tigers to just 29% shooting in the first half which included 2-of-12 from beyond the arc.
The Dawgs ended up needing the cushion they got from the first half run after halftime. The Tigers began to become more efficient on the offensive side and almost immediately had the game back within a few possessions when the final 20 minutes got underway.
Leading 47-45 with a little over 10 minutes to play, the Bulldogs extended their lead back out to 10 and led 59-49 with just under three minutes to go.
ECU played the long game from there by fouling to extend things and managed to chip away at that margin. They had possession and a shot to tie with less than one second left on the game clock but could not get a full court heave off. Final: 63-60.
Final shooting numbers showed SWOSU at 32%, compared to East Central at 40%. The Dawgs left many points on the table from the foul line, finishing 16-for-31. Meanwhile the Tigers were 18-25.
It was rebounding that gave SWOSU such an edge. They outrebounded ECU 47-35 which included those deadly 19 offensive boards. Four different Bulldogs grabbed at least three offensive rebounds. SWOSU also won the turnover battle 16-12.
Outside of Ben Smith, the Dawgs got points from Chris Braggs, Jr. and Mark Berry who combined for 24 points.
It was SWOSU's first conference win of the season. They move to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the GAC. Their challenging start to conference play takes them to Bethany next Saturday where they'll play SNU to close out the 2022 portion of the schedule. The Crimson Storm were picked preseason favorites entering the year.
