Men Tame Tigers, 90-80

February 21, 2009

ADA - Southwestern Oklahoma State University dug deep into its reserve tank and found more than enough energy to put away East Central by a score of 90-80 in a men's basketball game in Ada.

The win lifted SWOSU to 16-9 on the season and 7-3 in the Lone Star Conference North Division play. East Central fell to 6-21 and 1-10 in division play. The Bulldogs will next play at home Wednesday against Northeastern State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.

Kendall Smith had 24 points and Kenneth White added 21 for the Bulldogs who again used the three-point line to their advantage. SWOSU ended the game making 15-out-45 attempts for 33% from the arch while ECU was just three-of-14 for 21%. The last time the SWOSU played ECU they set a short-lived LSC record for most three point attempts in a game with 51. This time around against the Tigers the Bulldogs made two more and attempted six fewer.

Smith finished with eight three-pointers which tied his season high and was one away from the school record of nine.

The Tigers got back in the game early in the second half after trailing by nine points at the break. ECU made it 61-61 when Dontae Figgs scored in close with 11:06 to play. SWOSU then answered with a 15-4 run of its own keyed by White who got loose and scored a number of easy baskets. His score at the seven-minute mark put SWOSU in control at 76-65.

In the first half SWOSU raced out to a 50-41 lead on the strength of Smith's three-point shooting. The senior guard had six treys as the Bulldogs finished the half 12-of-30 from beyond the arch.

SWOSU took the lead for good when White hit a three to put the Bulldogs in front 17-16 with 12:02 to play. The lead quickly grew to as many as 17 points later when Jerard Campbell scored in close to make it 44-27 with 4:24 to play.

SWOSU ended the game making 22-of-65 for 34% from the field while ECU was 34-of-72 for 47%. SWOSU helped itself considerably at the free throw line making 31-of-35 attempts for 89% with Campbell making 17-of-20 from the stripe. ECU was just nine-of-20 from 45%.