Bolivar, Mo. - The Southwest Baptist Bearcats won a thrilling match-up against the Pittsburg State Gorillas, 82-73, in Bolivar tonight.  SBU was able to come back from 15 down in the first half to improve their home record to 8-2, and their overall record to 10-10 (7-7 MIAA).  "The guys decided to step up and play.  They could have folded and not played well" head coach Jeff Guiot stated of his team after the victory, "but I thought they showed a lot of character and heart."

The Bearcats had four players in double figures, including senior Kurt Koeing.  Koeing lead the Bearcats with 17 points on seven of nine shooting from the field.  Junior's Ryan Dougherty and Tre Smith pitched in 14 and 15 points, respectfully, and freshman Zach Kliene contributed 14 points.  "We showed a lot of hustle play," coach Guiot stated, "and when you hustle like that, you get good shots."

The Bearcats were very efficient from the field, shooting a season high 60.0% (27-45) from the field, and an astonishing 72.2% in the second half.  SBU also forced 19 turnovers, and produced a season low 12 turnovers.  "When we are active on our offense and defense, we are hard to beat" coach Guiot said after the game.

The win pushes SBU's home winning streak to four games, but coach Guiot acknowledges there's still work to be done: "We need to play more consistent, and more consistent."

Up next, SBU travels to play Truman State University on Saturday, February 5, 2011.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.