WEATHERFORD - SWOSU Men's Basketball got one final stop on defense as time expired to preserve their lead and won 78-75 over Southern Arkansas on Saturday.
The result gives the Dawgs a regular season sweep of the Muleriders and halted a two-game losing streak to give SWOSU a seventh win in GAC play.
In a close first half, the Muleriders led 31-25 - their largest lead of the game - with 3:15 to play before halftime. SWOSU responded with a 10-0 run to eventually give them the lead going into the half, and all the momentum.
The halftime lead was enough for the Dawgs as they never trailed in the second half. A strong start after the intermission gave SWOSU their biggest lead of the game at 54-41 with 12:50 to play after a pair of MJ Warrior free throws.
Southern Arkansas dwindled the lead down to one with just eight seconds to go, but MJ Warrior iced the game with two clutch free throws after an intentional foul. Warrior ended the game going 6-7 at the line and scoring 12 points with an additional four steals on the defensive side.
SWOSU was able to capitalize on defense by forcing 18 turnovers while only committing 11 themselves, which led to a five-point advantage for the points off turnovers.
Both teams shot the ball around the same mark, SWOSU shot 46.6% while Southern Arkansas was 47.5% from the field. Beyond the arc, the Dawgs held the slight edge at 23.5% to SAU's shooting 23.1%.
Jalen Johnson had a career day, finishing with 23 points on 10-17 shooting which bested his previous career high of 20 points that he had just one week ago against Oklahoma Baptist.
Ben Smith had a nice outing with 17 points going 9-11 from the line and being a force on the defensive side creating five steals. Mark Berry (10) and Jacore Williams (10) had double-digit points on the day.
SWOSU's magic scoring number, 75 points, was again reached on Saturday. The win now puts the Dawgs at 6-0 when scoring at least 75 points.
The Bulldogs, at 7-7 in the GAC, will now look forward to four straight games away from home, starting with Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia on Thursday at 7:30 pm. They will be looking to take down the Tigers for the second time this year.
