SWOSU Advances Past UAM In Overtime

Southwestern Oklahoma State University junior guard Rod Camphor set a record for points in the Great American Conference and helped lead SWOSU to the GAC Tournament semifinals with a 77-69 overtime victory over Arkansas-Monticello.

Camphor scored a GAC Tournament-record 36 points in the contest, connecting on 12-of-14 field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 three pointers, and 9-of-16 free throw attempts. The 36 points The 36 points eclipse the previous record of 28, scored by SWOSU teammate Dominick Cornelius in the first round of last year's tournament. It also matches the highest point total in a GAC game since the conference inception.

Arkansas-Monticello led early in the first half before the teams traded buckets for most of the half. After UAM took a 25-20 lead on a 3-pointer by GAC Player of the Year Kori Forge with 6:45 to play in the first half, SWOSU closed on a 9-3 run to take a 29-28 lead to the locker room.

Two free throws from Brandon Sims to open the second half gave UAM a 30-29 lead, but a short jumper by Michael Bradley gave the lead back to SWOSU and they would hold it for nearly the entire second half. Ryan Donahoe gave SWOSU its largest lead of the second half at 48-41 with 7:16 to play in the game, but the Boll Weevils closed regulation on a 16-9 run to tie the game and send it to an extra session.

SWOSU would not relinquish the lead in overtime as well although they would trade free throws from Camphor with baskets by UAM on the first two possessions. Dayton Mickens tied the game up at 61-61 with 2:53 to play, but SWOSU scored the next nine points to break the game open at 70-61. Thomas Davis scored back-to-back buckets to start the run before Kenyan Borders picked off a pass from Ramon Mejia and drove it down for his only bucket of the game.

After failing to put the game away in regulation at the free throw line, SWOSU was solid in the final minute of overtime connecting on 8-of-9 attempts at the stripe in the extra session. The victory gives SWOSU their third win in the Great American Conference tournament the past two years as a lower seed and the Bulldogs are the only school to win a game in Bartlesville as the underdog.

SWOSU now advances to face Arkansas Tech in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Saturday.