SHAWNEE, Okla. – SWOSU Men's Basketball fell to three-seeded Northwestern 82-74 on Friday in the Quarterfinals of the Great American Conference Tournament.

The loss ends the Bulldog season. They finish with a 10-18 record, 10-12 in league play, having qualified for the postseason in Brett Weiberg's first year at the helm after missing the tournament a year ago.

SWOSU fell behind Friday from the jump after the Rangers opened the game on a 12-2 run and had to play catch up the entire way through. The Dawgs did not lead at any point in the contest.

They had the margin back within a point near the halfway mark of the first half at 18-17, but Northwestern eventually stretched the lead back out to double digits and led 42-35 at halftime thanks to a 55% field goal percentage.

Out of halftime, both teams had trouble getting a flow with whistles on both ends of the court. The two sides combined for 39 free throws in the second half and 59 in the game. The Dawgs got close to the lead on multiple occasions but could never breakthrough for a lead change with timely Ranger responses that pushed their lead back out.

SWOSU finished 22-30 (73%) at the foul line in the game but shot just 4-of-17 from the three-point line. Northwestern had similar numbers at the charity stripe, 21-29, but finished at 51% shooting overall in the game and 9-of-21 from deep as key difference makers.

Ben Smith finished with 20 points to lead the team. He was 6-15 from the field and 8-11 from the foul line. Jalen Johnson had 16 as the other double-digit contributor. Mark Berry chipped in nine points and a team best 12 rebounds.

Four seniors make their exit from the program – Mark Berry, Mason Hart, Jalen Johnson, and Ben Smith.