WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU Men's Basketball had a 15-point second half lead evaporate in a 68-64 loss to Cameron in their home opener just before Thanksgiving Break.
The Bulldogs (0-4) remain winless on the young season after a tough start to the schedule that featured matchups with three ranked opponents. Tuesday's contest with Cameron finally broke that streak against ranked opponents.
SWOSU will return to action on the road next Thursday, Nov. 30 with the start of conference play against Oklahoma Baptist. They'll return to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center that Saturday, Dec. 2, to host Southeastern Oklahoma State in more league play.
With 15:51 left to play in the second half, things were rolling for the Bulldogs after a fast break following a steal led to a Ben Smith dunk, courtesy of Jalen Johnson who ricocheted the ball off the backboard to a trailing Smith who slammed it home. Cameron was forced to call timeout with SWOSU leading 46-34.
The offense began the second half 10-for-11 from the field and enjoyed their largest lead of the game shortly after that timeout after Smith got another dunk off a steal. With 13:58 left to play, the Bulldogs led 53-38.
From that point on, the offense went cold and SWOSU was outscored 30-11 down the stretch after shooting just 2-of-17 from the field. With six seconds remaining, the Dawgs nearly had a chance to tie or take the lead after a missed free throw but turned the ball over before getting across half court.
SWOSU limited Cameron to 36% shooting in the game and 18% from the three-point line. However, the Dawgs lost the rebounding battle 45-27 and surrendered 20 offensive rebounds that led to 10 second chance points.
Offensively, SWOSU shot 21-for-48 (44%) overall in the game and went 5-for-15 from beyond the arc. The Dawgs led 34-30 at halftime after shooting over the 50% mark in the early going.
Ben Smith led the team with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He finished 2-for-8 from the free throw line. Jalen Johnson added 12 off the bench. Nick Burchfield and Denali Alexander combined for 13 more points off the bench.
