Moore’s Buzzer Beater give Southern Arkansas Win

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Senior forward Charles Moore’s fall-away toss at the bucket was good as time expired, lifting Southern Arkansas to a 66-64 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State Tuesday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Knotted at 64-64 and 0.9 seconds showing on the clock, sophomore guard Channin Harden delivered a baseball pass from out of bounds the length of the court that somehow Moore corralled underneath the basket long enough to toss the ball up before falling out of bounds.

The Muleriders (4-3) almost let it slip away, holding a 64-53 advantage at 4:36 on Cory Clark’s three-pointer. But the Savage Storm (0-6) literally stormed back, scoring 11 unanswered points to tie it up on Derrien Williams’ two free throws with 24 ticks left. Williams should never have been at the free throw line, the freebies coming courtesy of a technical foul on sophomore forward Justin Stuart after he had been fouled by SOSU’s Carlin Whitten, his fifth personal. Stuart was set to go to the line for a chance at two free throws on the bonus foul, but after Williams hit both the technical shots, Stuart missed the front end of his one-and-one, setting up the dramatic finish.

SAU never trailed in the second half, but the score was tied six times in the frame and 11 total in the game. They held a 34-32 advantage at the break.

Southern Arkansas took their largest lead in the first half at 9-4 on a lay-up and free throw from Stuart at 15:03. Southeastern Oklahoma claimed a four-point margin earlier, and then held their last lead of the game, 27-26, at 3:14 on Kelvin Wilson’s trey. The Muleriders used an 8-5 run to close out the half.

Stuart vindicated his near fatal blunder by posting a team-high 16 points, finishing 5 of 6 at the free throw line. He came into the contest at 91.3 percent from the charity stripe. Moore put up 11 points, none bigger than the final two, and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Harden and junior guard Sanchez Dade had 10 points apiece, and sophomore guard David Noble dished out a game-high five assists.

The teams were pretty much even from the floor, SAU shooting 24 of 53 for 45.3 percent and the Savage Storm 25 of 55 (45.5), but the difference was Southern Arkansas’ three-point shooting, hitting 7 of 14 to SOSU’s 3 of 14. The Muleriders connected on 11 of 14 (78.6) free throws to Southeastern Oklahoma’s 11 of 16 (68.8).

SAU held a 33-29 rebound advantage and both teams committed 15 turnovers.

Wilson led all scorers with 17 points, while William Slones added 14, and Mychal Horn and Whitten had 12 each for the Savage Storm. Whitten also pulled down eight rebounds.

Southern Arkansas’ win evened the 42-year old series at 16 games apiece, with the Muleriders having now won four consecutive. They beat SOSU 77-73 in overtime on Saturday in Durant.

The Muleriders’ scheduled 2 p.m. game Saturday at home against Bacone (Okla.) College has been canceled. SAU’s next action will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they travel for a re-match with Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lions handed Southern Arkansas a 75-55 setback in the Muleriders’ home opener on November 20.

Photos by Aaron Morris