Contact: Houston Taylor
LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Southern Arkansas overcame deficits in both halves to come away with a 71-61 victory over West Alabama Wednesday at Pruitt Hall.
Down 42-37 with 14:31 left in the game, the Muleriders went on a 9-2 run to move ahead on Cameron Butler’s lay-up at 12:25 and never trailed again. The Tigers crept back to within 51-48 with almost nine minutes remaining, but SAU fought the comeback attempt off, eventually taking their first 10-point lead of the game at 1:32 on two Cory Green free throws, before settling for the same margin to end the game.
Southern Arkansas twice shook off UWA leads in the first half, the last overcoming a four-point deficit on a 12-0 run. Mori Turpin hit a trey during the spree for a 23-22 advantage at 8:10 and the Muleriders went on to a 30-22 margin with David Noble’s jumper at 5:34. West Alabama then used an 8-1 run of its own to pull within 31-30 with 3:05 left, but SAU countered to for a 33-30 advantage at the break.
Southern Arkansas (5-2) shot 20 of 49 from the field for 40.8 percent, including 10 of 21 (47.6) from beyond the arc, and dropped in 21 of 27 (77.8) freebies. The Tigers connected on 26 of 59 (44.1), five of 15 (33.3), and shot just seven free throws, hitting four for 57.1 percent.
Turpin led SAU with 16 points, Cory Green hit for 13, Brandon Williams added 12, and Butler chipped in 10 and pulled down a team-high six boards.
UWA’s Michael Billings led all scorers with 27 points, hitting 11 of 19, four of eight from downtown. Kevin Johnson added a double-double, posting 16 points and grabbing 13 boards.
West Alabama (2-6) held a 38-28 margin in rebounds, but Southern Arkansas forced 22 Tiger turnovers and converted them into 21 points. The Muleriders committed just 12 miscues themselves.
SAU takes a 10-day break during finals and won’t see action again until December 15 when they host Texas A&M-Commerce in a 7 p.m. tip-off at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
