Box Score

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – For the second time in as many games, the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team kept their fans' hearts racing as they went into overtime before coming away with a win. This time, SAU went an extra five minutes with Ouachita Baptist and the Muleriders eventually earned a two-point win, 73-71, on Saturday evening in the W.T. Watson Center.
 
As was the case in the last overtime game on Thursday night, Saturday's game between the Muleriders (8-8, 5-6 GAC) and the Tigers (6-11, 3-8 GAC) was nail-bitingly close throughout. For the game, there were 10 lead changes and 13 tie scores. Additionally, neither team held a lead larger than eight points.
 
The game's apex eight-point lead was gained by the Muleriders at the 13:41 mark of the first half when Chauncy Williams drained a three-pointer to make the score 17-9. Over the next three minutes of the game, however, the Tigers would go on a 10-2 run to knot the game at 19-all.
 
The Muleriders would not lose their lead at that point as a made jumper by Alre'k Brown on SAU's next possession put them back out in front, 21-19. SAU would hold on to a slim lead over the next four minutes of the game before the Tigers grabbed their first lead of the game, 29-28, with 5:43 left in the half.
 
From there, the Muleriders' shooting would go cold as they missed their last five shots of the first half. That scoring lull allowed the Tigers to carry a five-point lead into the locker room, 35-30.
 
Early in the second half, the Muleriders erased their halftime deficit as they got a scoring boost from Brown. Over the first three and a half minutes of the half, Brown scored all six of the Muleriders points and brought them to within a point, 37-36, with 16:38 left. Just over a minute later, Thursday night's hero, Reece Dunlap, knocked down a three-pointer to give the Muleriders the lead once more, 39-37.
 
That lead would not last long, however, as the Tigers went on a quick 6-0 run to reclaim the lead, 43-39, with 12:12 left in regulation. Over the next 6:12 of the game, the score would be tied four times and the lead would change hands twice.
 
The last of those ties during that stretch came at the 6:00 mark and was broken up by the Tigers. OBU then proceeded to go on another 6-0 run over the next 2:13 of the game.
 
Now trailing by six points, the Muleriders clawed back into the game at the free throw line as they hit six of their next seven attempts to take a one-point lead, 63-62 with 2:10 left. Prior to that stretch, the Muleriders had missed 17 of their 29 attempted free throws.
 
That one-point lead would hold until 39 seconds remained in the second half as OBU's Kyle Francis made one of two free throws to knot the game at 63-all. The Muleriders would have a chance to push back ahead on the ensuing possession, but a pair of missed free throws kept the game knotted up with 12 seconds left in regulation.
 
A couple of seconds later, OBU took a two-point lead, 65-63, as Colt Fason knocked down a pair of free throws. After the second make, OBU called a timeout to set their defense for the game's possible final play. On SAU's ensuing possession, Tyrell Taylor quickly got the ball up court and drove the lane for a game-tying layup with five second left.
 
On OBU's ensuing possession, Eric Braeuer mirrored Taylor and got into the front court and lane quickly, but unlike Taylor, his layup attempt was not good and the clock ran out, sending the game to overtime.
 
In the overtime period, the Muleriders got out to an early five-point lead on a conventional three-point play by Jeffrey Walker and a pair of free throws by Duke Reed. Yet another 6-0 run by the Tigers followed, however, as OBU grabbed a one-point lead, 71-70, with 29 seconds left.
 
As was the case at the close of regulation, the ball would be in the hands of Taylor for the Muleriders' final possession and Taylor delivered once more as he put the Muleriders up by two points after he completed the old-fashioned three-point play with five seconds left in overtime.
 
The Tigers would get one final chance to win the game as Micah Delph got off a three-pointer before the buzzer, but it drew iron, giving the Muleriders the 73-71 win.
 
Taylor would end the game as the team's leading scorer with 18 points. 10 of his points came from the free throw line and 15 of those points came in the final six minutes of regulation and overtime.
 
The Muleriders will take a brief step away from conference play as they play host to Champion Baptist at the W.T. Watson Center on Tuesday, January 28. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m.