SHAWNEE, Okla. – For the first time in Great American Conference history, SWOSU claimed the conference title after defeating Southern Nazarene 66-58 Sunday afternoon in the championship game.
 
"I am so excited and super proud of the way we have played throughout this tournament," coach Terry Evans said in his post-game interview. "The way these guys stormed back before halftime was just incredible. We hit some big shots and were able to wear them out in the end and we are GAC champions because of it."
 
SWOSU started the game ice cold, going 4-of-11 from the field in the first nine minutes. SWOSU also had not knocked down a single three-point shot and trailed 16-8. 
 
The Dawgs got right back in the game by using an 11-4 run.   
 
SWOSU trailed 32-29 at halftime and got a huge stop off an inbounds play with 0.7 seconds left. SNU threw up a lob, but Damion Thornton intercepted the pass right as the buzzer sounded. 
 
In the firsy half, SWOSU shot 75 percent from the foul line, going 6-for-8. This helped keep the Bulldogs in the game.

SNU struggled to hit free throws in the first five minutes, going 2-of-6 from the foul line and SWOSU took advantage. Jaylan Williams gave SWOSU a one-point lead after he knocked down a three pointer with 12 minutes to play, making the score 42-41. After this play, SWOSU went on a 10-6 run and led 52-47 with seven and a half minutes to play.
 
As the game went along, SNU continued to score and make small pushes towards changing the momentum, but SWOSU seemed to always have an answer. SWOSU got huge stops on defense with Thornton and Mason Hart each taking a charge on different possessions.
 
"We made some great defensive stops," Evans said. "We not only got big charges, but we also had some big deflections on their passes. We rebounded the ball very well down the stretch and when we got those stops, we hit shots. Kamden and Damion both made big plays off the screen and roll."
 
SNU would not go away, as they cut it to six with a minute and a half to play. However, DeAngelo Adkins got an offensive rebound with 34 seconds left. Thornton was fouled and made both free throws, giving SWOSU a 64-56 lead with 31 seconds to play. SWOSU hung on and won the game 66-58, giving SWOSU their first GAC Championship in school history and its second NCAA Division II postseason berth.
 
SWOSU shot 61 percent from the field and shot 55 percent from the three-point line in the second half. SNU shot 39 percent from the field and went 0-of-9 from the three-point line in the second half.
 
"I want to thank all the teams in our league for beating us this season," Evans said jokingly. "We've been able to learn and grown so much this year from some hard losses and adversity. All the teams in our league are good and we had to step up just to make the tournament. Kudos to everyone in our conference."
 
Thornton scored 17 points and Gipson scored 14 points. Thornton was the MVP on the all-tournament team and Gipson made the all-tournament team.
 
"I give all glory to God," Thornton said. "He took control of the whole tournament and my play. I give all glory to him."
 
SWOSU improves to 14-16 and will take on top seeded Augustana in the NCAA Tournament.
 
"We knew we could beat any team in our conference," Gipson said. "Now we were not consistent all season, but we knew once we got in the tournament, we could play with anyone, and we did. We still control our own destiny and are ready to make some noise in the tournament."