Ward is Top Rebounder in Country

Horne, Grigsby, Ognenovski, Allbritton among national leaders

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- Southwestern Assemblies of God University's men's basketball team reached the holiday break with a 3-6 won-lost record that doesn't fully reflect some of the performances of a number of the Lions players.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which has 259 men's teams (116 in Division I), lists five SAGU players in the country's Top 20.

Six-foot-five-inch, sophomore forward, Nathaniel Duce Ward (Waco, Tx / Univ of North Tex, Connally HS) maintains his national lead in rebounding. Ward is snatching 13.1 missed shots from opponents, holding off Mid-Continent University's (Ky) Chris Ferguson's 12.9. Duce has been a picture of consistency, reaching double figures in all nine games, where he had a minimum of 10 caroms and season high of 15.

Ronald Horne (Waco, Tx / Univ of North Texas, Waco HS), the playmaking junior guard, is scoring at a 21.1 points per game clip. Like Ward, that figure leads the Red River Athletic Conference. Horne is ninth nationally.

Other Lions players whose numbers show up on the NAIA's leader board includes Craig Grigsby (Houston, Tx / Glenda Dawson HS), Bosko Ognenovski (Bitola, Macedonia / State Fair Community College, Bethel Christian) and Matt Allbritton (Plano, Tx / George Washington Univ, Garland Christian).

Grigsby, the freshman sixth man, has connected on 42-of-48 free throws. His .875 percentage is 9th in the country and #2 in the RRAC. Ognenovski, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, is blocking an average of 1.78 shots per game. That comes in #18 in the NAIA and is third in the Red River.

Meanwhile, Allbritton makes the charts in assist-to-turnover ratio. He is making 1.44 assists per game and just 1.18 turnovers. The +1.18 is 18th in all the land. Six teammates have committed more miscues than the junior guard.

Elsewhere on the SAGU statistical report card are Peter Dutton (Houston, Tx / Booker T. Washington HS), Ward, and Allbritton, who are averaging 17.0, 12.9 and 12.6 points per outing. Horne leads the Lions in field goal shooting accuracy, as he makes 45% of his shots.

Dialing Up Long Distance Calls

Beyond the arc, Southwestern's Three Amigos; Allbritton, Horne and Jared Gibson (Dallas, Tx / West Plano HS), all rank in the RRAC's Top Ten in Three-Point Accuracy. Allbritton paces the team by hitting .396 of his 48 three-point tries, which is sixth in the league. Horne and Gibson are good for .383 and .377 percentages. Gibson and Horne are tied for 2nd in the Red River by stroking 2.56 treys per game, with Allbritton tossing 2.11 triples per outing (7th).

Gibson and Horne are 7th and 20th in steals, registering 2.0 and 1.3 per contest. Horne and Gibson, junior guards, come in at 11th and 14th in assists, where they can be counted for 3.0 and 2.7 per contest.

SAGU leads the nation in FT Shooting

The Lions lead the nation in free throw shooting as a team, gunning .775 from the charity stripe. Five players rate in the RRAC's Top 12; Grigsby .875, Horne .831, Gibson .793, Allbritton .774 and Ward .742.

After Ward's 13.1 rebounds per game, are Horne and Allbritton with 4.4 and 4.0 caroms per contest. Ognenovski grabs 3.3 boards per night.

When it comes to playing time, Ward is on the court more than anyone on the team, averaging 38.2 minutes per game. Gibson is second at 35.6, followed by Horne at 34.1, Allbritton 31.8 and Dutton at 29.0. Grigsby is the only other Lion to play more than half the game, at 20.7.

Next Game: Southwestern at Paul Quinn, Jan. 6

The Lions return to the hardcourt on Thursday, January 6. They will take on Paul Quinn College in Dallas at 7:30pm. The Tigers (7-5) have won four of their last five games. SAGU's next home game is on Jan. 15.

Other Top 5 statistical leaders include;

Field Goal Shooting Percentage

Horne 54-of-120 .450, Ognenovski 9-20 .450, Dutton 6-14 .429, Ward 35-91 .385, Allbritton 35-96 .365

Three-Point Shooting Accuracy

Dutton 5-9 .556, Allbritton 19-48 .396, Horne 23-60 .383, Gibson 23-61 .377, Grigsby 1-7 .143

Free Throw Percentage

Grigsby 42-of-48 .875, Horne 59-71 .831, Gibson 23-29 .793, Allbritton 24-31 .774, Ward 46-62 .742

High Point Game

Horne 30, Allbritton 28, Ward 22, Gibson 19, Dutton 17, Grigsby 16

Points Per Game Scoring Average

Horne 21.1, Dutton 17.0, Ward 12.9, Allbritton 12.6, Gibson 11.6, Grigsby 8.8

Rebounds Per Game

Ward 13.1, Horne 4.4, Allbritton 4.0, Ognenovski 3.3, Nnamdi Agbaroji 3.0, Gibson 3.0

Assists Per Game

Horne 3.0, Gibson 2.7, Ward 1.8, Allbritton 1.4, Da'Tron Harris 1.1

Steals Per Game

Gibson 2.0, Horne 1.3, Ward 1.2, Dutton 1.0, Grigsby 1.0

Total Blocked Shots

Ognenovski 16, Ward 14, Allbritton 4, Gibson 3, Horne 2

Total Personal Fouls

Horne 30, Gibson 27, Grigsby 27, Allbritton 26, Ward 26, Ognenovski 21

Top Ten in Minutes Played Per Game

Ward 38.2, Gibson 35.6, Horne 34.1, Allbritton 31.8, Dutton 29.0, Grigsby 20.7, Ognenovski 18.2, Agbaroji 15.0, James Southerland 10.2, Harris 8.8

Complete team and player stats can be found at either www.RedRiverConference.com or at www.naia.cstv.com