Men Fall to Arkansas Tech, 80-73
February 9, 2012
Southwestern Oklahoma State University gets 25 points from Chase Elliott but are unable to overcome free throw shooting woes in road loss to Wonder Boys.
Chase Elliott led SWOSU with 25 points in the game against Arkansas Tech
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Southwestern Oklahoma State University fashioned a good fight and managed to give conference-leader Arkansas Tech a stern test before losing 80-73 in a men’s basketball game Thursday in Russellville, Ark.
Chase Elliott had 25 points and kept SWOSU within striking distance but the Bulldogs comeback chances were undone with some uncharacteristic poor free throw shooting. The loss dropped SWOSU to 13-8 overall and 4-7 in league play while ATU kept its top spot hold in the Great American Conference improving to 16-4 overall and 8-2 in league play.
SWOSU which sported the conference’s best free throw shooting mark at better than 74% struggled making just 13-of-21 free shots for 62%. The Bulldogs missed three front ends of a one-and-one which could have aided them handily in their rally attempt.
SWOSU coach Charlie Schaef told the KWEY post-game show that he was pleased with the effort his group showed after a tepid start in which the Bulldogs gave up 47 points in the game’s first 20 minutes.
“I was really proud of the effort we gave especially defensively in the second half,” Schaef said. “We got a lot of good looks late but the shots simply wouldn’t fall. Giving away points at the free throw line really killed us. We’ll fix those things and be ready when we face Harding.”
The Bulldogs will next play Harding Saturday in Searcy, Ark. SWOSU was an 85-67 winner in the meeting between the two schools last month.
SWOSU was down by as many as 13 points midway through the second half before starting its charge. The Bulldogs got as close as 65-61 when Thomas Davis scored on a layup with 5:19 to play. Three straight possessions resulted in no points and SWOSU went scoreless. Only Daniel’s free throw at the 2:33 mark broke up a four-minute scoring drought in which ATU pushed its margin back to a comfortable nine points.
SWOSU also got a solid effort by Filip Toric who turned in his first double-double of the year finishing with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Davis also added 13 points, his sixth straight game in which he has scored 10-or-more points.
