MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team picked up its first win of the young 2014-15 season on Saturday evening at the W.T. Watson Center as they defeated Southeastern Oklahoma by a score of 78-77.
 
The one-point win for the Muleriders (1-1, 1-1 GAC) did not come without nervous moments for SAU fans as, with just 0.6 left in the game, Southeastern was sent to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game after SAU's Alre'k Brown was whistled for a loose ball foul following a missed three-point attempt by Southeastern moments before.
 
On the foul, Southeastern's Darrius Harris went to the charity stripe with the game on the line. Harris, an 86% free throw shooter coming into the game, was 2-for-2 already in the game before he sunk his first attempt to make it a one-point game, 78-77. Prior to Harris' next attempt, however, SAU would call a full timeout in an attempt to ice Harris.
 
Coming out of the timeout, the crowd of 376 let out a continuous roar of what felt like 1,000-plus fans, all in an attempt to break the concentration of Harris. With the crowd noise at a fever-pitch, Harris' second free throw attempt would draw iron and the remainder of the game clock would wind down, securing the win for the Muleriders.
 
"Our team was resilient tonight after a tough one Thursday night" noted head coach Andy Sharpe. "It was obvious to everyone in the gym tonight that our guys were together and committed to the common goal of winning the game."
 
As thrilling of a game it turned out to be, the Muleriders had to fight their way back into the game after falling behind by 11 points to the Savage Storm (1-4, 0-2 GAC) with 7:20 left in the first half. In fact, that was the point in which the Muleriders began their comeback effort.
 
Over the next 4:38 of the game, the Muleriders would go on a 14-3 run to knot the game up at 36-all with 2:42 left in the first half. Southeastern would out-score SAU 4-2 over the remainder of the first half to take a two-point lead, 40-38, over the Muleriders into the locker room.
 
In the second half, SAU would continue their push and eventually took a one-point lead, 44-43, with 16:37 left in the game. Over the next 5:40 of the game the lead would change hands four times, but the last of those lead changes would go in favor of SAU as they grabbed a one-point lead, 56-55, with 11:39 left.
 
From there, the Muleriders would maintain the lead throughout, with Southeastern managing to tie the score on a couple of occasions.
 
Two Muleriders would score in double figures in the game with the leading scorer being DJ Frye as he scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Frye would also add a team-high seven rebounds (five offensive) and four assists. James Evans would be the other Mulerider in double figures in scoring with 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor.
 
As a team, the Muleriders would shot 46% from the floor overall (31-of-68) and were 7-of-19 from beyond the arc (37%). On the glass, the Muleriders would pull down 38 rebounds with 19 of them coming on the offensive glass.
 
The Muleriders will now prepare for a non-conference tilt with Central Baptist College on Tuesday, November 25. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center.