Saturday night hoops; SAGU at Bacone

Follow the game on Live Stats

SAGU is at Langston on Monday

MUSKOGEE, Oklahoma  --  The Southwestern Assemblies of God University men’s and women’s basketball teams are in Oklahoma this weekend for a pair of basketball games.

Saturday night they take on Bacone College in Muskogee, which is located 55 miles southeast of Tulsa in northeast Oklahoma.

The Lady Lions will tip it off at 5:30pm (CST) at the Palmer Center, followed by the Lions at approximately 7:30pm.

Fans can follow the play-by-play of the accounts of the game on-line via the Live Stats webcast.

It is a free, digital version of the game, complete with the score, game clock, description of the plays, along with player and team statistics in real time.

Copy and paste the url address in your browser. For Live Stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/WebcastPlayByPlay/WebcastPBP.aspx?association=10&sg=MBB&compID=148442&sea=NAIMBB_2012

A detailed review of both games will be posted here on Saturday night.

The teams will remain in Oklahoma on Sunday before meeting Langston University on Monday night. Located in the center of the state, just east of I-35, Langston is 42 miles north of Oklahoma City, and 130 miles west of Muskogee. 

PREVIEW: Women's Basketball

The Lady Lions are 4-5 overall, and tote a 1-2 mark in games against teams in the Red River Athletic Conference. Bacone (BAY-kohn) is 1-5 and 0-3. The Lady Warriors have currently dropped five straight games.

The teams split last winter, with the hosts taking both games. Bacone rallied in the final two minutes to steal the opener, 46-44, while Team Lioness won in Waxahachie, 64-57.

SAGU won the previous six meetings, and are 7-1 against the Tribe since the 2008-09 campaign.

SAGU is scoring 64 points per game, which is seventh in the 12-team RRAC. Bacone has struggled, netting 51 (12th). Defensively the Lady Lions own a similar advantage, allowing 63 (5th) to the Warriors’ 72 (10th).

The Lady Lions are fourth in the league in three-point baskets per game, averaging 5.1. Bacone is eighth at 4.0.

The biggest advantage for SAGU is on the boards, where the team is a +4.4 rebounds (39.6 to their opponents 35.1 per game). That is third best in the RRAC. Bacone is -9.7 (41.2 to 50.8).

Since the loss of Nia Winston (Garland, Tx / Panola JC, Lakeview Centennial HS) and her 15.4 ppg for the season, the Purple Pride is in the throes of redesigning their attack.

Two young guards, Keevie Bratchett (Center, Tx / Tenaha HS) and freshman Taylor Hill (Waxahachie, Tx / Waxahachie HS) are setting the pace in points with 10.0 and 9.4 respectively. Bratchett, a sophomore, is tops on the team in assists and steals.

The frontcourt is led by Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS) and Sierra Hankins (Welch, Ok / Welch HS). The former averages 8.4 ppg and a whopping 13.0 rebounds per outing. Hankins is at 7.1 and 7.3.

On the rise are Cordia Harvatin (San Antonio, Tx / Stacey HS) and Jessica Sodich (Arlington, Tx / Ovilla Christian). The former is accounting for 7.0 ppg while Sodich, who has made 54% of her shots, is netting 5.4.

The Lady Warriors are coached by Robbie Shay; formerly the Lady Lions head coach. Their team has a balanced approach to scoring, sparked by Emily Lovell, a 6-foot center, and Shae Knabe, a 5’4 guard. They are credited for 8.3 and 8.0 ppg.

PREVIEW: Men's Basketball

Bacone was the surprise team in the RRAC just three years ago (19-12 record), winning the post-season tournament and earning a berth in the NAIA playoffs. Since then they have gone 14-15 and 3-26.

Presently, the Warriors are 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the RRAC. SAGU, ranked #20 in this week’s NAIA Coaches Top 25 poll, are 7-2 and 2-1.

Neither team is clicking on all cylinders, offensively, through nine games.

Bacone averages 70.4 (11th) while SAGU is at 73.7 (8th). The reason for squeaky wheels in their attack is shooting. BC is connecting on 41% of their attempts, good for eighth in the RRAC, while the Lions are in eleventh at 37%.

The difference is on defense and on the boards, where the Lions expend a lot of energy.

The Lions allow opposing shooters to make just 37% of their shots – which second best in the league; Bacone permits 44% (9th).

The rebounding comparisons reveal that SAGU is getting ten more rebounds per game than Bacone, when averaging boards gained and yielded.

Individually, the Lions top scorer is junior guard Dominique Rambo (Dallas, Tx / Oklahoma Wesleyan Univ., Trinity Christian). He is getting 15.6 ppg, while James Ford (Victoria, Tx / Faith Academy) is the team’s Microwave.
The senior comes off the bench to net 12 ppg on 55% shooting.

Two players who are coming into their own are power forward Mike Nwelue (Lewisville, Tx / Lewisville HS), credited with 11.1 ppg and 8.0 rebounds, and winger Jon Walter (Garland, Tx / Garland HS), who is bagging 9.4 ppg.

Caleb Gentry (Hondo, Tx / Oklahoma Wesleyan Univ., Hondo HS), a defensive nuisance to opponents, carries a 7.9 ppg average.

The Warriors are led by Christian Smith, a 6’6 junior forward. He scoring at a 13.9 points per game clip and is the squad’s top rebounder at 6.7 rpg.

Kwame Bates, at 6’2, is the Tribe’s backcourt ace. He has poured in 12.6 ppg and is swishing 50% of his shots.

Starting the season with a pair of games in which he scored twenty or more points, 6’3 forward Charles Gordon has averaged just seven per game since. Should he rediscover his touch, he could be the X-factor for Bacone at home.

The Lions swept the season series last winter and have taken 3-of-4 in the past two years. Overall, however, the Warriors own a 4-3 edge dating back through 2008-09.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.