MAGNOLIA, Ark. – SWOSU Men's Basketball earned a second consecutive double-digit conference victory following an 84-72 victory over Southern Arkansas on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs, now 3-2 in GAC play, notched season highs in points scored (84), field goal percentage (53%), three-point makes (10), and turnovers forced (17). It was the first road win of the season.

SWOSU shot 53% in the first half to lead by nine at halftime thanks to a balanced offensive attack that featured points from eight different Bulldogs.  

The Dawgs forced nine first half turnovers and cashed those into 13 points, while turning it over just two times themselves. The margin could have been greater, but SAU came away with 18 offensive rebounds for 13 second chance points of their own.

SAU cut their deficit to five points in the early part of the second half, but SWOSU swiftly responded with a run to push the lead back to double-digits where the margin hovered the rest of the way.

Ben Smith finished with a game high 24 points, followed by MJ Warrior with 15, and Denali Alexander's 14.

Eli Al-Debaran added nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

It's the fourth time this season SWOSU has held an opponent under 37% shooting. The Bulldogs also limited the Muleriders to 25% from deep.

SAU crushed the Bulldogs on the boards, but SWOSU shot their way out of having it make any sort of impact on the game. The Muleriders came away with 23 offensive rebounds, a new opponent season high, and won the total rebounding battle 48-28.  Warrior led the Dawgs with six rebounds.

SWOSU will now shift focus to Arkansas-Monticello. The two will face off on Saturday at 3:00 pm in Arkansas.