Muleriders Hold off Central Baptist

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas (5-6) finally shook off the rust to hold on for an 80-64 win over Central Baptist College (10-7) Tuesday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

The Muleriders hadn’t seen action in 17 days since December 13 while on Christmas break and it showed as they let a 44-33 halftime lead slip away. The Mustangs started the second half with a 16-5 spurt to knot it 49-49 on Trad Williams’ lay-up at 14:24. Sophomore guard David Noble answered right back with a trey to put SAU on top for good as they edged out for a five-point advantage. But CBC was within 56-55 on Michael Holder’s lay-up at 11:01 before Southern Arkansas made an 11-1 run to pull away. Sophomore forward Justin Stuart’s dunk and Noble’s free throw at the end gave the Muleriders their largest margin of the game and the final score.

Central Baptist held an 18-13 lead on Ryan Barnes’ jumper at 11:45 in the first frame. SAU raced back from that and was up 44-31 before Rodderick Briggs’ two freebies set the score at the half.

Stuart and red-shirt freshman guard Cory Clark combined for 42 points, each hitting for 21, to lead Southern Arkansas. Stuart was 10 of 16 from the floor and hit his only free throw, while Clark drained 6 of 11 from beyond the arc and was 3 of 5 at the line. Stuart picked up his second double-double of the season in grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds. He also had three assists and two blocked shots in 40 minutes of play.

Noble chipped in 10 points and dished out a game-high five assists.

The Muleriders shot a respectable 48.3 percent for the game in hitting 28 of 58, including canning 17 of 33 (51.5) in the first half. They were 7 of 17 (41.2) on three-pointers, and 17 of 25 (68.0) at the free throw line. The Mustangs finished 21 of 53 (39.6), 4 of 16 (25.0) and 18 of 27 (66.7).

Barnes led all scorers with 23 points, connecting on 6 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 5 treys, and converted on all eight from the charity stripe, and had a team-high six rebounds. Holder and Dominic Brewer added 11 points apiece.

Williams, who played his freshman season at SAU in 2004-05, finished with four points and four boards.

Southern Arkansas came up big on the glass, holding a 42-27 advantage. Each team suffered 19 turnovers.

The Muleriders are off until Monday when they host LeTourneau (Texas) at 7 p.m. in their final warm-up before Gulf South Conference action begins on January 10 against Arkansas Tech.

Photos courtesy of Bill and Lynne Nielsen