FORT SMITH, Ark. – SWOSU Men's Basketball had their season come to an end in the Quarterfinal Round of the GAC Tournament to the hands of two-seeded Ouachita Baptist 74-63.

After the Dawgs took a quick 7-4 lead thanks to a Kray Rogers triple, Ouachita Baptist went on a 10-0 run that saw the Dawgs commit six live-ball turnovers during that stretch, which helped the Tigers get out on fast breaks. At the end of the half, OUA led 9-4 in fast-break points.

When it looked like the two-seeded Tigers would start to run away with the game after they took a 25-15 lead, the Bulldogs used aggressiveness on the offensive side of the ball to get to the free throw line to steady the game and slowly chip away at the deficit, chopping it down to just two possessions multiple times before closing the half down just seven, 34-27.

In the opening 20 minutes, SWOSU shot just 8-23 (35%) while Ouachita Baptist went 12-27 (44%) from the field. SWOSU had 11 turnovers to just eight for the Tigers, and Ouachita led 16-8 in points in the paint.

SWOSU would stay in the game for most of the second half, keeping the deficit around ten points against a pesky Ouachita team that is currently ranked sixth in the Central Region. Multiple times the Dawgs got within seven points of the Tigers, but each time Ouachita was able to respond by either making a tough bucket on one end or immediately causing a turnover on the defensive side of the ball, as they racked up 15 steals on the afternoon en route to a 74-63 win to end the season for the Bulldogs.

The 63 points remain a key number, as it represents the exact number of points the Dawgs averaged in their GAC losses, compared to 79.1 in their wins.

Ouachita had 15 steals on the afternoon, the most by any Bulldog opponent this season and just the third time this year that a team recorded more than ten. The 15 steals were the most against SWOSU since 2022 against Northwestern.

The Bulldogs finished the game 20-47 (43%) from the field and just 5-20 (25%) from deep compared to OUA, who went 24-50 (48%) but just 2-14 (14%) from beyond the arc as they did most of their damage in the paint, controlling the inside with a 38-24 advantage. Ouachita also had an advantage at the free throw line, as their 24 makes was the most against the Bulldogs all year.

Senior Kayden Carter led the team with 14 points on 4-8 shooting while grabbing four rebounds. Senior Elijah Jordan had 11 points on just two made shots; he went 7-8 from the charity stripe and fouled out in the final minutes. Walker Kennedy had not played double-digit minutes since the win over Northwestern on February 12 but played 20 minutes, scoring nine points. The Bulldogs' leading scorer on the year, Ty Frierson, played just seven minutes in the first half, scoring two points; he did not play in the second half.

The Bulldogs end the season 11-18 overall and 8-14 in conference play. SWOSU has qualified for the postseason in all three seasons under third-year head coach Brett Weiberg.