WEATHERFORD – The Bulldog defense came up big again on Saturday, holding defending conference champion and preseason favorite Arkansas Tech to just 61 points in a 12-point, 73-61 victory.
SWOSU has now beaten two GAC Tournament qualifying teams from a year ago in their first two conference games. The Bulldogs are now 5-2 overall, 2-0 in conference, and a perfect 4-0 inside the PEC.
The Dawgs had their defensive presence felt early in the game after holding Tech to only one made basket in their first 12 attempts. It allowed SWOSU to build a 12-5 lead in the early going. Despite a close game throughout, SWOSU paced the way. The Wonder Boys took a 2-0 lead to start the game before SWOSU led for the remaining 39 minutes and change.
SWOSU held a 39-33 lead over the Wonder Boys thanks to an 8-2 run to close the half. Shooting splits had the Dawgs leading in field goal percentage (57.1%-44.0%) and three-point percentage (46.2%-27.3%) with SWOSU knocking down six threes compared to Tech's three.
The SWOSU defense held Arkansas Tech to 0-of-10 from the three-point line the second half.
After the break, the Bulldog defense continued their performance by limiting ATU to 8-of-25 (32%) from the field from the field. In the game, the Wonder Boys would only make 19 field goals and get three three-point makes – both representing season lows for the visitors.
Four Dawgs made it into double figures with Tobias Roland (16), Eli Al-Debaran (15), MJ Warrior (12) and freshman Kray Rogers (10). Rogers' 10 is a season high, and they all came in the first half to give the offense a boost. Warrior added seven assists, four rebounds and a steal to his stat sheet.
ATU finished 20-26 (76.9%) from the free throw line to just 5-10 (50.0%) for the Bulldogs. The 16 free throw disparity is the largest for SWOSU in the young season.
SWOSU's next game will take place in Bethany, Oklahoma against Southern Nazarene on Saturday, December 14 at 3:00 pm. They will close out the fall semester schedule with a pair of home games on December 16 and 19.
