WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Men's Basketball couldn't overcome a 38-31 first half deficit and eventually fell to Arkansas-Monticello 68-57 at home on Thursday night.

UAM built their halftime lead by shooting nearly 62% as a team in the first 20 minutes which overshadowed SWOSU's 50% clip. After the break, the Weevils used a 15-4 run to open up a 53-37 lead with 12:22 left to play. The Dawgs fought back and got the margin within as few as five points but could not produce a run big enough to overtake the visitors.

Trailing by seven entering the second half, the Dawgs turned the ball over 10 times and shot 14-of-22 (64%) at the foul line after halftime – both stats that did not aid in the comeback attempt. They also did not connect on a three ball after the break, finishing 0-for-7 in the game's final 20 minutes.

SWOSU's defense locked down the Weevils in the second half, reducing their once 61.5% shooting percentage down to just 29%, but the Dawgs still were outscored 30-26 in the session.

Ben Smith led the Bulldog offense with 19 points on the night while grabbing a team high seven rebounds. MJ Warrior added 14 more but finished without an assist for the first time all season.  

UAM's Isaac Jackson (26 pts) and Zane Nelson (20 pts) entered the night ranked one & two in the conference in scoring. They combined for 46 and both scored greater than their season average.

Team stats showed SWOSU shooting 20-of-49 from the field overall and 2-of-13 from beyond the arc while going 15-for-25 at the charity stripe. Monticello shot 35-for-50 collectively and 5-for-13 from deep. They knocked down 17 of their 21 free throws – an 81% rate.

The loss was SWOSU's second to the Weevils this season. Now 6-7 in GAC play, the Dawgs will look to rebound Saturday against a Southern Arkansas squad they previously defeated 84-72 at the start of January. Tipoff for that contest comes at an earlier 1:00 pm time slot.