[November 15, 2007]

Contact: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas overcame a terrible night on the boards to pull off a 65-57 win over Philander Smith Thursday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center in their season opener.

The Muleriders lost the rebound battle, 54-32, which gave the Panthers an 18-7 edge in second chance points, but SAU’s defense and terrific free throw shooting down the stretch was good enough to hold off PSC.

Southern Arkansas shot a woeful eight of 30 (26.7 percent) in the first half to trail 24-23 at the break. But the Muleriders knocked down 10 of 24 (41.7) and converted on 20 of 24 free throws (83.3) in the second frame to turn their fortunes around.

Chris Montgomery’s lay-up put SAU ahead to start the second half and although Southern Arkansas would never trail again, Philander Smith kept it interesting. They evened it three times from there, the last at 29-29 on a lay-up from former Mulerider Brandon Bealer with 16:36 on the clock. First-year senior transfer Scotty Lott (Huston-Tillotson) then knocked down a three-pointer and SAU eventually went on to its first double-digit lead at 45-35 with Lott’s lay-up at 8:19. The Panthers didn’t go away, cutting it to a five-point deficit twice, the last with two minutes remaining, making it 52-47. PSC went to the foul game and Southern Arkansas won it there, hitting 11 of 12 at the charity stripe in the last 1:42 to seal the game. Cameron Butler’s two free throws gave the Muleriders a 14-point edge (63-49), their largest of the game, with 39 ticks left. SAU didn’t have a single field goal attempt down the stretch until Butler slammed a dunk with 23 seconds remaining.

Southern Arkansas jumped out to a 5-0 advantage in the first half on a trey from Brandon Williams and a jumper by David Noble. Philander Smith responded, scoring six unanswered for their first lead at 17:41. After a Lott jumper put the Muleriders back in front, 7-6, at 15:42, the Panthers went on a 14-5 run over the next six minutes for a 20-12 lead on Darren Jamison’s lay-up at 9:32. SAU chipped away, eventually taking a 22-20 lead on Butler’s jumper, but PSC fought back for the one-point edge at the break.

Southern Arkansas’ defense held their opponent to only 30.6 percent shooting on 19 of 62 attempts, including four of 20 (20.0) from downtown. The Muleriders connected on just five of 24 treys (20.8), but made up for it at the line, canning 24 of 30 (80.0) to Philander Smith’s 15 of 24 (62.5).

“I’ve told our guys we’re going to have nights where we’re not going to shoot the ball well, but defense always gives you a chance to win,” stated SAU coach Eric Bozeman. “We didn’t play well and last year I would have been happy to just get the win, but this is a new day and we expect more, so that’s encouraging, because we know we can play better and shoot the ball better.”

Lott was six of 12 from the floor, including two of six from downtown, and hit both his free throws to lead Southern Arkansas with a game-high 16 points. Butler and Cory Green added 13 points apiece, and Butler and David Verwers pulled down seven boards each. Bozeman used all 13 players on his bench.

Jamison scored a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the Panthers, while Leon Harris chipped in 11 points. Tommy Bozeman, nephew of the Mulerider coach, saw 19 minutes of action, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds.

SAU forced 24 PSC turnovers, while committing 15.

Southern Arkansas returns to action Monday when they host Champion Baptist College out of Hot Springs in a rare 11:30 a.m. tip-off. The early start is part of the men’s season of “Mulerider Madness” which will bring in approximately 1,100 area elementary, middle, and high school students Monday for the game.

Photo by Aaron Morris