ARKADELPHIA – The Southern Arkansas Muleriders took care of business in Arkadelphia Saturday afternoon with an 89-67 victory over Ouachita Baptist.
The Muleriders (5-3, 2-1 GAC) found themselves down seven points in just the first three minutes of play, but the comeback would be just the start of an offensive domination. SAU was led by junior Jerry Carraway Jr. who recorded a season-high 15 points, while five fellow Muleriders recorded double digit points. Senior LaTreavin Black had his second season double-double, scoring 12 points and recording 11 rebounds.
Southern Arkansas was outscored 11-4 in the first few minutes, but Carraway landed back-to-back threes to help SAU inch closer to the leading Tigers. Ouachita continued to hold the lead throughout the first half before senior Brock Schreiner put the Muleriders just two points back of the rival team with a made three and Carraway followed with a driving layup to even play with the Tigers for the first time in 14 minutes of play.
Ouachita regained the lead one final time with a layup by Ma’Darius Hobson before senior Blake Rogers was fouled on a made layup that allowed the Riders to gain a lead they would hold for the next 25 minutes. Southern Arkansas delivered their final eight points with style- junior Jessie Davis Jr. notched a dunk and Carraway and sophomore Carel Ray Jr. sunk threes. SAU outscored OBA 12-5 in the final four minutes of play to enter halftime with an eight-point lead.
Black and Rogers delivered back-to-back layups to secure a 12-point lead off the bat in the second half.
Ouachita recorded a single layup before the Muleriders went off on a massive 15-0 run that included three layups from Black, two threes from Wyche and a three from Gregory Hammond Jr. before the streak was interrupted by a three from Ouachita’s Marvin Williams-Dunn. Southern Arkansas continued to extend its lead and held an impressive 34-point lead (83-49) at 6:16 in the second half. SAU started off the second half heavy on the three-point shooting but switched their attach plan to shoot in the paint and capitalize on both ends of offensive shooting. The Muleriders finished off the Tigers with a dunk by sophomore Logan Phillips to solidify their 22-point victory over Ouachita.
Lady Tigers 93,
Lady Muleriders 83
Southern Arkansas outscored Ouachita Baptist 45-36 in the second half of play but were unable to come back from the 19-point halftime deficit. Senior Kylie Warren recorded a career-high 25 points in the matchup, the most throughout her five seasons as a Lady Mulerider.
Senior Mychala Linzy followed with 13 points that included two shots made from behind the arc. Linzy went 5-5 on the night while recording four steals and Diamond Morris led with five rebounds, five assists and one block while recording 11 points.
Once again, the Lady Muleriders relied on their three point shooting, attempting 32 long shots versus Ouachita’s 12 and led with their 37.5% 3-point field goal percentage.
SAU was not going down without a fight. They started off the final quarter with an 8-0 run that included two 3-pointers from Warren and two made free throws from Morris to cut the lead to five points. The Lady Muleriders outscored OBA 20-17 in the final quarter, but the 19-point deficit they encountered in the first half was too large to come back from.
The SAU women will play at home at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Arkansas Baptist College.
Both the men and women will return to conference play Saturday at home against Arkansas Tech. The Lady Muleriders and Golden Suns will tip off at 1 p.m., followed by the Muleriders and Wonder Boys at 3 p.m.
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