MAGNOLIA, Ark. – When
Andy Sharpe took over the reins of the men's basketball program at Southern Arkansas in April of 2012, the 2010-11 NAIA National Coach of the Year made it clear that one of his chief goals at SAU was to have his teams consistently make the Great American Conference Tournament and compete for conference championships in the process.
With the his first regular season at Southern Arkansas under his belt, Sharpe has begun to lay the foundations to achieving that goal as he and his 2012-13 squad battled through adversity to qualify for the GAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed (
Official Tournament Bracket).
The Muleriders, who finished the regular season with a 10-16 overall record and a 6-14 mark in the GAC, will be looking to pick up the school's first win in a conference tournament since the 1999-2000 season.
As the No. 8 seed, the Muleriders will take on No. 1 seed Harding University in the opening round of the tournament on Friday, March 8th at 6:00 p.m. In the two previous regular season matchups with Harding, the Muleriders were in position to knock off the eventual co-regular season champions, but each time the Bisons (20-8, 13-7 GAC) were able to out-last the Muleriders in overtime.
Despite the two overtime defeats to Harding, the Muleriders showed how competitive and resilient of a team they have as they notched quality wins against four of this year's GAC tournament participants, and added another win against provisional members and co-regular season champions, Northwestern Oklahoma.
Those wins, three of which came in overtime, were highlighted by a 67-63 win at home against co-regular season champion Northwestern Oklahoma, and a thrilling 70-68 overtime win against Arkansas-Monticello on Senior Night.
Statistically, the Muleriders were one of the best rebounding teams in the conference as they led the GAC in offensive rebounds per game (14.4) and finished second in defensive rebounds per game (26.6). They were also the fourth-highest scoring team in the GAC as they averaged 71.3 points per game. Seven times this season, the Muleriders scored more than 80 points. In those games, the Muleriders were 5-2.
The Muleriders' opening round game on Friday, March 9th at 6:00 p.m. can be followed as it happens through the following LIVE LINKS:
