Box Score
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Thursday night's game between Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma was a tale of two halves. The first half favored SAU as they out-scored SWOSU 39-21, but the second half belonged to SWOSU as they roared back and out-scored SAU 51-24 en route to beating the Muleriders by a score of 72-63.
In that opening half, the Muleriders (9-9, 5-7 GAC) led by as many as 20 points as they were able to take advantage of a dismal shooting performance by the Bulldogs (12-5, 9-2 GAC). All told in that half, the Bulldogs shot just 21% from the floor after they went 8-of-38. Of those 38 shot attempts, 21 came from beyond the arc for the Bulldogs and they made just two in the first half.
Conversely, the Muleriders shot fairly well from the floor in the first half as they ended with a 41% (11-of-27) shooting percentage. Four of their 11 made shots came from long range as they were 57% from the three-point line. Additionally, the Muleriders found success at the free throw line as they knocked down 13-of-17.
Over the first two minutes of the second half, the Bulldogs surged back into the game as they went on a 9-2 run to pull to within 11 points, 43-32. All nine of those points came from beyond the arc as the Bulldogs knocked down their first three three-point shots of the half.
A tip-in by Brown gave the Muleriders a 13-point with 16:25 left in the game, but the relentless surge by the Bulldogs continued as they used the next 6:53 of the game to go on a 14-0 run, giving them a one-point lead, 46-45. During that run, the Muleriders were 0-for-5 from the floor and turned the ball over five times. On the other end of the court, the Bulldogs were 6-of-12 from the floor.
After losing their lead, the Muleriders would knot the game up shortly after on a layup by
Jeffrey Walker, but after that another barrage of three-pointers by the Bulldogs launched SWOSU on top and gave them control of the game.
The leading scorer for the Muleriders was Walker as he scored a game-high 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and 9-of-11 shooting from the free throw line. Walker also led all players in rebounds with 13 as he collected his 4th double-double of the season.
The Muleriders will remain on the road as they travel to Alva, Okla. to take on Northwestern Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 4 p.m.
