Gameday: Bulldogs at Southern University

WHEN: 6 p.m.
WATCH/LISTEN/INTERNET: No/WJAB-FM 90.9/WJAB.ORG

BATON ROUGE, LA – The last time Southern and the Bulldogs tangled, it was a down-to-the-final buzzer showdown.

The Jaguars, though, escaped Elmore Gym with a 53-52 win last month.

And now, the Bulldogs are coming off a hard-fought triple-overtime loss at archrival Alabama State last weekend.

The host Hornets outlasted the Bulldogs 97-89 in a game that saw a trio of Bulldogs – scoring/rebounding leader Quinterian McConico, assists leader Rakiya Battle and starter Adrian Edwards – foul out in the extra periods.

The loss of the trio – all seniors – left the underclassmen to handle the workload.

The Bulldogs are hoping to close out the final six games of the regular season on a promising note, starting with this road trip to Southern University (Saturday at 6 p.m.) and Alcorn State (Monday at 7:30 p.m.)

Though the Bulldogs have just one conference win, they are still mathematically within range of finishing within the league's top eight teams to qualify for the SWAC Tournament next month.

The games can be heard on WJAB-FM 90.9 and wjab.org with Michael Burns on the play-by-play.

BULLDOG BITES

DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Senior Quinterian McConico is second among active SWAC players with six double-doubles on the season.

CLOSE BUT …: The Bulldogs have been in several close games this season. In fact, five of their losses have been by a total of 17 points – four of which were by two points or less. And this isn't counting last Saturday's triple-overtime loss at Alabama State.

THE Q ZONE: McConico is one of four players among the league's top 10 in scoring and rebounds. He is 9^th in scoring with an average of 14 points per game and fourth in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game.

DISHING IT OUT: Senior Rakiya Battle, the SWAC's top assists player in each of the past two seasons, is second in the league with 110 assists and an average of 4.8 assists per game. He is also tied for first with a 1.7 assist/turnover ratio.

CHARITY STRIPE: De'Ederick Petty has hit on 89 of 121 free-throw attempts for a .736 percentage – good for ninth in the SWAC. He was good on 10 of 13 last Saturday at Alabama State – the second time this season he hit double figures at the line.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: The Bulldogs' leading rebounder, McConico is fourth in the league with an average of 7.3 rebounds per game. He is third in defensive rebounds, averaging 5 per game and sixth in offensive rebounds at 2.3 per game.

SURE SHOOTING: McConico is second in the conference with a .568 field-goal percentage – just .006 behind Southern's Jared Sam.

TOP 10 DOGS: Bulldogs are among the SWAC's top 10 in several categories.

Quinterian McConico –2^nd field-goal percentage, 137-of-241, .568; 4^th rebounding, 7.3 rpg; 3^rd defensive rebounds, 5 per game; 6^th offensive rebounds, 2.3 per game.

Rakiya Battle – 2^nd total assists, 110; 2^nd assists per game, 4.8; 1^st assist/turnover ratio, 1.7.

De'Ederick Petty – 9^th three-point field goals made, 1.5 per game; 9^th free-throw percentage, 89 of 121, .736.

NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT: The SWAC basketball tournament will feature an eight-team, three-day layout this year with the quarterfinal rounds hosted on campus sites. This is a change from the previous 10-team, five-day tournament format. The first round is March 7 at the campuses of the top four seeds with the semifinals (March 10) and championship final (March 11) at the Toyota Center in Houston.

ALL-CONFERENCE: Seniors Rakiya Battle and Quinterian McConico were named to the preseason All-Southwestern Athletic Conference second team.

Battle led the SWAC in assists in each of the last two seasons. He had 5.3 assists per game last season and 6 per game in 2014-15. Battle, a point guard with great hands, was second in the SWAC with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.6. In 2014-15, he had a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio.

McConico was a strong force inside for the Bulldogs last season with a .643 shooting percentage from the field. He scored a career-high 18 points against rival Alabama State last season in one of his seven starts.

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Players Mentioned

#3 De'Ederick Petty: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

#10 Rakiya Battle: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#42 Quinterian McConico: C/F; 6' 8"; Senior

#30 Adrian Edwards: F; 6' 4"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#3 De'Ederick Petty
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G

#10 Rakiya Battle
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#42 Quinterian McConico
: 6' 8"; Senior
: C/F

#30 Adrian Edwards
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F