Box Score
BETHANY, Okla. – Southern Arkansas attempted 13 fewer free throws than their counterparts from Southern Nazarene on Thursday night, and the disparity of attempts between the two Great American Conference rivals contributed to the Crimson Storm knocking off the Muleriders by a score of 63-57.
Aside from free throws, the game was relatively even as both teams shot 42% overall from the floor for the game. Both teams also were 9-of-18 from beyond the arc in the game.
Despite the similarities in the statistics, the Muleriders (9-13, 5-11 GAC) did not hold a lead in the game as the Crimson Storm (13-9, 8-8 GAC) led from wire-to-wire in the contest after scoring the game's initial points with 17:59 remaining in the first half.
Trailing by as much as 10 points with 3:21 remaining in the first half, the Muleriders would go on a 6-0 run to close out the half and head into the locker room with a four-point deficit, 24-20.
Midway through the second half saw the Crimson Storm swell their lead back out to double digits. Once more, the Muleriders would respond with a run to keep themselves in the game. That most recent run was a 12-3 run, and pulled the Muleriders to within a single point, 40-39.
With their lead in serious jeopardy, the Crimson Storm called a timeout to halt the momentum built by the Muleriders. Coming out of the called timeout, SNU's Bradley Toone nailed a three-pointer to put the Crimson Storm back up by four points, 45-41.
The Muleriders would again pull to within a point a couple of minutes later, but the Crimson Storm would not relinquish their lead as they eventually captured a 63-57 win.
Down the stretch, the Crimson Storm were a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line over the final 4:04 of the game.
Darrin Johnson came off the bench and led the Muleriders in scoring with 19 points off of 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Johnson was also 5-of-6 from long range in the game.
The Muleriders will next be in action a week from tonight as they will remain on the road to take on Harding University on Thursday, February 21st. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
