Men Win WTAM Tournament
November 26, 2006
CANYON, Texas – Southwestern Oklahoma State University extended its season-opening win streak to four straight with two trouble-free games and won the West Texas A&M Thanksgiving Tournament with relative ease. SWOSU was 88-75 victors over Ouachita Baptist Friday and then defeated surprise finalist Adams State, 84-69, in the championship game.
SWOSU, now 4-0 on the season under first-year coach Todd Thurman, play two more games on the road before returning home Thursday, Dec. 7 with a matchup against Midwestern State.
Senior Reggie Gunn had 17 points, including 11 in the first half to lead the Bulldogs in the opener against OBU. Gunn again had plenty of support as three other teammates made double figures in the scoring column. Newcomers Jose Garcia was next with 15 points followed Marcus Millender with 14 and Nate Perry added 13 points for the unbeaten Bulldogs.
SWOSU led by as many as 19 points early in the second half only to see the Tigers claw back thanks to a 19-4 run. SWOSU’s lead had shrunk to 65-61 with seven minutes to play before Garcia and Perry hit back-to-back baskets to regain the momentum back. The Bulldogs were quickly up 11 with five minutes to play and ended up winning by a 14-point margin.
Adams State earned the title shot at SWOSU thanks to a stunning 66-64 victory over the host, WTAM, on Friday. The loss was WTAM’s first at home since the 2004-05 season.
Garcia had a season-high 18 points and was a perfect four-for-four from three-point range to lead SWOSU in the victory over Adams State. Clarke Hale added 13, Perry put in 11 and Ryan Mann had 10 points to lead the Bulldogs in scoring.
SWOSU kept a double-figure advantage throughout much of the game only to see the Grizzlies make a run late cutting the Bulldogs lead to 66-60 with 7:47 to play. Hale had the last seven points in a 13-2 run that gave the Bulldogs some extra breathing room down the stretch. He made a fast-break layup and SWOSU was back in control 79-62 with just under two minutes to play.