Cold Shooting Dooms Muleriders against Northeastern State

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – It wasn’t as cold outside as it was inside for Southern Arkansas Monday as the Muleriders shot only 32.2 percent from the floor in losing their first game of the season 61-53 to Northeastern State (Okla.) at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Hitting at a 49.1 percent clip coming into the game, SAU (2-1) connected on just 19 of 59 field goal attempts, including 5 of 21 (23.8) three-pointers. They had knocked down 15 of 31 treys (48.4) in their first two games of the season.

Conversely, the RiverHawks (2-1) attempted only 33 field goals, hitting 14 (42.4), but made up for it at the free throw line where they got 39 chances, converting 29 for 74.4 percent. Southern Arkansas was slapped with 28 personal fouls in the game to NSU’s 15, limiting their free throw opportunities to 10 of 16 (62.5).

Northeastern State pre-season All-America senior center Jason Jones tallied 19 points, with 15 coming at the charity stripe on 17 attempts. Otherwise, the Muleriders kept the big man in check, holding him to just 2 of 3 field goals.

SAU jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game, but wouldn’t hold an advantage again until the second half. Close throughout the first stanza, the RiverHawks eventually claimed an eight-point margin at 26-18 with 4:14 remaining on Marlon Burnett’s lay-up. Southern Arkansas whittled it back to a 30-26 deficit at the break.

The Muleriders looked to be making their move at the beginning of the second half, scoring the first six points for a 34-30 advantage at 16:15. That’s when they went stone cold, missing their next 13 shots, including three lay-ups, and not making another field goal for over 12 minutes of play. They hit three free throws during that span before junior forward Justin Stuart (Hope) gave them a lay-up at 3:52. In the meantime, NSU built a 48-35 lead at 7:11 on two Jones’ freebies. Stuart’s lay-up cut it to a 48-39 game.

Northeastern State went back up by 12 at 51-39 with 3:30 to play, but SAU made a short run that started with a thunderous dunk from Stuart. Senior guard Tony James (Bossier City, La.) backed that up with a lay-up, and following a dunk and three-pointer from senior guard Sanchez Dade (El Dorado), Southern Arkansas was within 53-48 with 1:23 left. But the Muleriders had to resort to the foul game and the RiverHawks hit 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Dade led SAU with 15 points and had five rebounds, while Stuart chipped in 13 points. Sophomore guard Chase Spruiell (Princeton, Texas) had an off night, missing all eight of his shots from the floor, while finishing with three free throws, but pulled down a team-high six boards.

Burnett recorded a game-high 22 points for NSU, and Brent Grice had a game-high seven rebounds, while Jones grabbed six boards to go along with his 19 points.

Northeastern State held a 42-26 rebound advantage, while Southern Arkansas again took good care of the ball with only nine turnovers, while forcing 21.

The Muleriders play the final of their season-opening four-game home stretch Wednesday when they host Wesley (Miss.) College at 2 p.m.

Photos by Aaron Morris