Men Race Past Cameron
January 21, 2009
Jose Garcia
Jerard Campbell had 30 points and SWOSU regrouped after trailing at halftime to win in easy fashion. The victory improved the Bulldogs to 11-7 on the year and 2-1 in the Lone Star Conference North Division. Cameron, which was led by Dave Smith with 16 points, fell to 7-9 overall and 1-2 in the division.
SWOSU found itself down 39-36 at the break and even further behind later in the second half as Cameron built a 48-41 lead. The Bulldogs began their fight back and took the lead for good at 58-57 when Campbell scored underneath with 10:45 to play.
Campbell, who had 19 of his 30 points in the second half, took charge from that point. He scored in a wide variety of ways including a spectacular alley-oop slam dunk that brought the enthusiastic crowd to its feet.
Cameron stayed close and was still within two points trailing 67-65 with 7:18 to play before Abdullah Lawal changed the game’s complexion. Lawal quickly came up with three steals in a matter of two minutes. The Bulldogs ran off nine straight points completed by Clarke Hale’s long-range three pointer that put SWOSU in front 76-65 with 5:17 to play.
Hale, who finished the night with 16 points, was a perfect five-for-five from three-point range tying a school record for accuracy in a game.
SWOSU again showed why it leads the LSC in three-point shooting proficiency canning 12-in-29 attempts for 41%. Kendall Smith, the LSC’s leading three-point shooter, had four treys and finished with 13 points for SWOSU.
Both teams were even statistically except for one important category: turnovers. SWOSU gave the ball up eight times while forcing Cameron into double that total. The Aggies finished with 16.
The Bulldogs made 46% of their shots on 26-of-56 attempts while Cameron made 45% on 29-of-64 attempts. SWOSU was out rebounded by just a slim margin with the Aggies leading on the boards by a 38-36 count.
SWOSU will next play Wednesday, Jan. 28 at Southeastern Oklahoma State University before returning home with a game against East Central University on Saturday, Jan. 31. The game will be a part of Athletic Hall-of-Fame activities.