Men Stay Unbeaten

December 4, 2008

KINGSVILLE, Texas – Southwestern Oklahoma State University pushed its season-opening win streak to six straight games thanks to a crisp shooting effort and collected a 74-67 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville.

The victory was SWOSU’s first road victory over A&M-Kingsville since the Bulldogs joined the Lone Star Conference in 1997. SWOSU had lost all five previous road meetings with the Javelinas before this year’s breakthrough. SWOSU now has taken victories on every court in the LSC.

Sharpshooter Kendall Smith continued his red-hot streak pouring in a career-best 29 points to lead the Bulldogs in scoring. Smith, who has averaged 23.0 points in his last three outings, made eight-of-11 shots from the field and five-of-seven behind the three-point arch.

Jordan Frosch had his second straight ultra-productive game on the offensive end scoring 16 points. Frosch made seven-of-12 shots while providing the perfect inside counter to Smith’s three-point bombs.

SWOSU led for much of the game only to see the Javelinas start the second half with a surge. TAMUK erased a three-point halftime deficit and stood in front 54-47 with 11:07 after a dunk by Flavio Milam.

The Bulldogs then switched into a higher gear and left TAMUK gasping. SWOSU outscored the Javelinas 23-4 over the next 10 minutes. SWOSU had the game well in hand when Clarke Hale buried a three-pointer to put the Bulldogs in front 70-58 with 1:05 to play.

SWOSU shot 25-of-51 from the field for 49% and sizzled from three-point range making nine-of-19 for 47%.

Defensively, SWOSU forced 22 turnovers while committing just 13 on its end. Abdullah Lawal again was a bright spot on the defensive side coming away with seven steals.

The Bulldogs will next play on the road Tuesday against Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo.