By: By: Daniel Gallegos
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SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
4-6 (0-4 GAC)
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NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
RANGERS
7-2 (3-1 GAC)
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SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
BULLDOGS
3-7 (1-3 GAC)
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
Tipping Off
Southern Arkansas men's basketball team is set to face a pair of tough road tests to begin the 2018 portion of their schedule as the Muleriders will trek to Alva, OK on Thursday to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State and then on to Weatherford, OK on Saturday to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State. Coming into the weekend, the Muleriders have yet to notch a win against a GAC opponent, going 0-4 prior to the break in their schedule. Despite their start to conference play, optimism remains high with 18 more league games still on tap.
The first of those will be against the upstart Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma at the Perceful Fieldhouse. NWOSU opened up the year 6-0 and were receiving votes from the NABC in late November. Since then, NWOSU is 1-2, but both of their defeats were on the road. To this point in the season, NWOSU is 4-0 at home.
SAU's next road test will be against a reinvigorated Southwestern Oklahoma team who will be playing its first GAC games this weekend under interim head coach Kris Johnson.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
The Northwestern Oklahoma men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 7-2 overall record and a 3-1 record in the GAC. The Rangers opened up their season on a six-game winning streak before dropping two-straight on the road at Arkansas Tech and at Newman University. In their most-recent action, NWOSU got back into the win column with a 90-73 road victory at Randall University.
On the season, the Rangers are shooting .477 (248-of-520) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .353 (65-of-184) from long range. From the free throw line, the Rangers are shooting .730 (116-of-159). Their overall field goal percentage ranks fifth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks ninth. At the charity stripe the Rangers' percentage ranks third.
So far this season, the Rangers are averaging 75.2 points per game offensively, and are allowing 67.3 points per game defensively. Their points per game scoring ranks eighth in the GAC while their scoring defense per game ranks in a tie for first in the league.
Currently three Rangers are averaging double-figures in scoring with Cody Halvorson leading the team at 13.9 points per game. Treyvon Andres is next at 13.7 ppg and Greg Minor Jr. rounds out double figure scoring with a 10.6 ppg average. Andres is the team's leading rebounder at 4.8 rebounds per game, while Brandon Green is the team's top assist man at 4.4 assists per game.
COACH
The Rangers are coached by Shawn Dirden, who is in his second season at Northwestern Oklahoma. Last season, Dirden guided the Rangers to a 12-15 overall record and an 8-14 record in the GAC. Prior to becoming the head coach at NWOSU, Dirden spent two seasons as an assistant at the University of North Dakota. In those two seasons, Dirden helped lead UND to a 25-38 record.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, the Rangers came into the W.T. Watson Center and beat SAU 77-67. That game was also the first time that season that
CJ Elkins did not score in double figures.
THE SERIES
This is the 11th meeting between SAU and ECU since the two became conference opponents in 2012-13. During that time, the series is 6-4 in favor of NWOSU and in games played at Northwestern Oklahoma, the Rangers hold a slight 3-2 advantage.
SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
The Southwestern Oklahoma men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 3-7 overall record and a 1-3 mark in the GAC. The Bulldogs will be in the midst of a season-high five-game homestand entering this weekend and thus far, SWOSU is 1-1 with a one-point loss to Oklahoma Panhandle and a 90-76 win over Randall.
On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 74.1 points per game, which ranks ninth in the GAC. Defensively, the Bulldogs are allowing 77.7 points per game, ranking their scoring defense 10th in the GAC, and their -3.6 scoring margin ranks 11th in the league.
As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting .421 (236-of-561) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .380 (87-of-229) from long range. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs are shooting .725 (182-of-251). Their overall field goal percentage ranks 10th in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks third. At the charity stripe the Bulldogs' percentage ranks fourth.
Individually, three Bulldog regulars are averaging double figures with Charles Beauregard leading the way at 16.6 points per game. Jerry Hurt is next at 12.7 ppg and Devin Pugh rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.4 ppg. Beauregard is the team's leading rebounder at 5.7 boards per game. He is also the top assist man on the team with an average of 2.4 assists per game.
COACH
The Bulldogs are now coached by Kris Johnson as he became the interim head coach on December 13 of this past year, taking the place of Bob Battisti. Prior to the new appointment, Johnson spent the previous four-plus years as the lead assistant under Battisti and has been a part of the SWOSU coaching staff now for seven seasons. Johnson is currently 1-0 as interim coach as the Bulldogs beat Randall in Johnson's head coaching debut on December 30.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, the Muleriders used the three-point shot to ease past SWOSU, 76-65. In that game, SAU knocked down 16 trifectas with 10 coming in the second half.
THE SERIES
This is the 15th meeting between Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma since the two became charter members of the Great American Conference in 2011-12. In that time SWOSU holds a 9-5 lead in the series. At SWOSU, the Bulldogs hold a 5-1 advantage over SAU.
MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 4-6 overall record and an 0-4 record in GAC play. The Muleriders are coming off of a tough one-possession loss on the road at Mississippi College on December 30. It was SAU's first game action in three weeks with their previous game being played on December 9 against Crowley's Ridge. In that game, SAU routed the Pioneers, 108-59. It was SAU's second game of the season with over 100 points. On the season, the Muleriders are averaging 82.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders rank fourth in scoring defense in the GAC at 70.7 points per game, and their +11.5 scoring margin ranks third in the league.
As a team, the Muleriders are shooting .454 (290-of-639) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .368 (85-of-231) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders are shooting .674 (157-of-233). Their overall field goal percentage ranks ninth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks seventh. At the charity stripe the Muleriders' percentage ranks ninth.
Individually, the Muleriders have three players who are averaging double figures in scoring with
CJ Elkins leading the team at 12.9 points per game. Draylan Perkins is not far back at 12.4 ppg and
Keeton Tennison rounds out double figure scoring with an 11.7 ppg average.
The leading rebouder on the team is DeVante Brooks with 6.1 rpg, while the top assist man on the team is Elkins with an average of 2.8 assists per game.
