WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU Men's Hoops finished 28-for-37 from the free throw line, leaning heavily on the foul shot in the second half, which helped lift the Bulldogs to a 74-71 victory over visiting Northwestern on Monday night.
SWOSU had success getting to the foul line all night by living in the paint on offense. The 28 made free throws and 37 attempts both tied season highs. They finished at nearly 76% at the free throw line for the game – the second highest mark of the season.
To go along with those free throws, came 36 additional points in the paint. The Dawgs managed just two three-point shots on the night, both from Kamden Gipson, but proved to not need any others.
The entire game was tightly contested, featuring 14 ties and 11 lead changes. The largest margin of the entire game was six points. SWOSU trailed 43-40 at halftime but methodically gained, and kept, control of the flow in the second half. They grew the biggest lead of the game at the 5:45 mark of the second half, leading 68-62, thanks to an 8-0 run.
SWOSU led the rest of the game but had to withstand multiple Ranger pushes.
Northwestern got within one point on separate occasions in the closing minutes, but it was the Dawgs who had an answer on each ensuing possession after they'd try to inch closer. Many of those answers came at the free throw line. SWOSU finished the second half 20-for-25 (80%) from the charity stripe representing well over half of their points scored.
Leading by three with under 30 seconds to play, the defense got one final stop to prevent a repeat of the last Saturday's game in which a game-tying three point shot forced overtime. The Dawgs got the defensive rebound and the buzzer sounded. Final, 74-71, good guys.
SWOSU finished 42% from the field as a team and 14% from three-point land, compared to 49% from the Rangers overall and 35% from deep.
Chris Braggs, Jr. led SWOSU in scoring with 18 points which included 10-for-11 at the foul line. It's his second straight game scoring 18 points, which is a season high. Mark Berry added 15 with more strong free throw shooting. He finished 7-of-8 from the line.
Both sides turned the ball over 14 times. It's the first time this season SWOSU won a game in which they did not have fewer turnovers than their opponent. They were previously 0-3 when turning the ball over as many, or more, times than their opponent until tonight.
The win moves SWOSU to 8-9 overall and 4-7 in conference play. The four-game homestand continues this Thursday for the Dawgs when they welcome Arkansas Tech to Weatherford for another 7:30 tipoff.
