SAU Drops Champion Baptist
Posted by Houston Taylor on November 24, 2008 · Leave a Comment
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas cruised to its first home win of the season Monday with an 87-50 decision over Champion Baptist at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
Jake Weido’s old-fashioned three-point play on a lay-up and free throw pulled the Tigers to within 22-19 at 8:11 in the first half, but sophomore forward Justin Stuart (Hope) scored six points in a 12-1 Mulerider run over the next four minutes for a 34-20 SAU lead and the rout was on.
Champion Baptist’s only lead of the game was at 3-2 on James Manthe’s three-pointer at the outset. Southern Arkansas led 40-26 at the break.
The Muleriders opened the second stanza out-scoring their opponent 25-8 to double their halftime lead midway the half for a 65-36 advantage on freshman forward Courtney Rhodes’ (Hope) lay-up at 10:38. They increased that to a 39-point spread of 87-48 with 54 ticks remaining before the Tigers’ Mark Harper hit two free throws for the final margin.
Stuart led all players in scoring a career-high 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the floor and hitting all four of his free throws. He added three rebounds, an assist and three steals in 29 minutes of action.
SAU (2-3) was on top of its game defensively, limiting Champion Baptist (1-12) to 28.8 percent shooting on 17 of 59 from the field. The Tigers attempted 24 treys, connecting on five for 20.8 percent, and managed just 11 of 18 (61.1) free throws.
Southern Arkansas was lights out in the second half, shooting 19 of 27 for a sizzling 70.4 percent, and finished 34 of 58 (58.6) for the game. They hit only 2 of 10 from beyond the arc, but was 17 of 18 (94.4) at the line.
Senior forward Charles Moore (St. Louis, Mo./Tennessee Tech) aided Stuart, racking up a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in only 20 minutes of play. Sophomore guard David Noble (Mansfield, Texas) had 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Muleriders used a 44-26 rebound advantage to pound Champion Baptist inside, out-scoring their opponent 60-22 in the lane. SAU also got 28 points from its bench, and had 14 turnovers while forcing 17.
Manthe led the Tigers with 12 points, Damon Grego added 11, and Andrew Pryor snagged seven rebounds.
Southern Arkansas returns to the road Wednesday, traveling to Durant, Okla., for a 7 p.m. meeting with Southeastern Oklahoma State.
