ALVA, Okla. – SWOSU Men's Basketball senior point guard Kamden Gipson became the all-time leading scorer in program history, but the milestone was spoiled by a late Northwestern comeback to force overtime followed by a 91-81 defeat that eventually ensued.
Regardless of the outcome, it was Gipson's night. He entered the game needing 13 points to break the record and had it before halftime. He finished with a career high 30 points on a sizzling 10-for-18 (56%) shooting that included 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Gipson passes former teammate Damion Thornton as the scoring leader in SWOSU's NCAA Division II era dating back to the 1997-98 season. He now leads the program in scoring, three-point makes, and assists.
The game Monday is a tough one to swallow. SWOSU led 37-30 at halftime and by as many as 11 in the first half. Things tightened up in the second half immediately out of the locker room after Northwestern used a 10-0 run to regain the lead which got the crowd reenergized.
Both sides battled the rest of the way until the Dawgs managed to get distance away from the Rangers, leading 69-61 with around 3:00 remaining and by seven points at 71-64 with 1:30 remaining following a Mason Hart layup.
From there, down the stretch, SWOSU missed four consecutive free throws to let Northwestern hang around – and they did just that and eventually tied things up in the closing seconds on a made layup.
The offense had one last shot to win it, but a Nate Goodlow three ball in the corner was no good and the game went into overtime.
In the overtime period, it was all Rangers. They outscored SWOSU 20-10 which included a three possession burst of consecutive turnovers by the Bulldogs and dunks the other way by Northwestern. The lead went from four to 10, proving to be too wide of a margin to overcome.
Monday's kryptonite was free throws and turnovers. SWOSU matched Northwestern in shooting percentage and even connected on five more three pointers at a higher rate. But shooting 9-for-20 at the foul line and committing 24 turnovers the Rangers cashed into 24 points proved to be a difference maker.
Aside from Gipson, MJ Warrior, Jr. gave the Dawgs a huge lift off the bench with nine points and five assists.
SWOSU is now 7-11 in GAC play and will hit the road to Arkansas to battle Harding and Arkansas Tech coming up later this week.
