Hale's Heroics Lift Dawgs

January 30, 2008

WEATHERFORD, Okla. -- Southwestern Oklahoma State University needed a hero, and one in a hurry. Clarke Hale, who shares the same first name as legendary Clark Kent, proved he may be part Superman himself. Hale drilled a desperation three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left in regulation to forge a 73-73 tie with visiting Texas A&M-Commerce and force overtime.

The stunned Lions never regrouped as SWOSU beat TAMC 85-78 in front of a supportive crowd. The victory was SWOSU’s fourth overtime win this season in as many tries. The Bulldogs, ranked 12th nationally, improved to 16-3 overall and 4-0 in the LSC North Division. The Lions dropped to 8-12 and 3-2 in division.

Hale finished the game with a team-best 18 points though none of it came easy. He struggled with his shot most of the night misfiring on all five of his previous three-point attempts before bagging the biggest one at the finish.

The Bulldogs trailed by 68-61 with three minutes to play and were teetering on the verge of defeat with leading scorer and rebounder Nate Perry on the bench with five fouls. Hale took over he scored on a driving layup to make it 68-63. He tied the game at 70-70 with an acrobatic layup while drawing a foul. His free throw was clean and the game was tied for the eighth time with 43 seconds to play.

Scooby Johnson, who led A&M-Commerce with 18 points, followed his own miss with a score to put the Lions back in front at 72-70 with 19 seconds to play. A&M-C added another free throw with nine seconds to go up 73-70 before Hale’s heroics.

SWOSU scored the first six points in overtime and never allowed the Lions a chance to have possession of the ball with a chance to either tie the game or take the lead with a score.

Abdullah Lawal came within a whisker of having the first triple-double by any player in the LSC this year. He finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight steals.

SWOSU also got double figure scoring by Perry and Brandon Nichols each with 13 points and Kendall Smith with 10.

The Bulldogs continue their homestand with a Saturday, Feb. 2 matchup against Cameron. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.