MONTICELLO, Ark. – The Bulldogs earned a fifth straight win behind an even workload, with five players reaching double figures in SWOSU's largest win of the season, 80-63 over Arkansas-Monticello on Friday night.
SWOSU, now 13-11 overall and 10-9 in GAC play, sits in sixth place in the conference with just three games remaining before postseason play. They will close out the week on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 3:00 p.m. against Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Arkansas.
The Bulldogs opened the game by going shot for shot with the Boll Weevils, with six ties and two lead changes in the opening 12 minutes. However, a 16-4 run gave the Dawgs a 39-27 lead with three minutes to go in the opening frame. UAM made it a slightly closer game going into halftime, cutting the lead for the Dawgs to 42-35.
Eli Al-Debaran (12) and
Denali Alexander (10) both had double-digit scoring halves, shooting a combined 7-9 (77.8%) and knocking down two three-pointers apiece. SWOSU shot 14-25 (56%) in the opening 20 minutes, knocking down six threes at 50% efficiency.
The lead continued to grow in the opening five minutes of the second half. SWOSU made three-pointers from
Tobias Roland,
Elijah Williams, and
MJ Warrior to open a 20-point lead at 58-38 after a 14-3 run. The floodgates had opened, and SWOSU built leads of up to 27 points, controlling the rest of the game. The Bulldogs' 80-63 win marked their largest margin of victory this season and their fifth straight win in a tightly contested GAC postseason race.
SWOSU has scored 80+ points in three consecutive games, scoring at least 70+ points in every game during their five-game win streak.
The Bulldogs shot 27-51 (52.9%) from the field, knocking down 12-24 three-pointers from beyond the arc. 12 three-point makes ties for the most they've made this season, and they did it by shooting a season best 50% from beyond the arc. Arkansas-Monticello went 21-49 (42.9%) from the field, making only 4-17 (23.5%) three-point attempts.
Five Bulldogs finished in double figures for the game. Williams and Al-Debaran each scored 15 points to lead the way. Warrior added 13 points and eight assists, while Alexander and Roland each contributed 10 points. Notably, all of Alexander's points came in the first half, and all of Roland's points came in the second. 14 team members saw action on the night.
