MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team ended the 2014 calendar year by overcoming a 12-point first-half deficit before eventually earning a comfortable 14-point win, 79-65, against Williams Baptist College in non-conference action on Wednesday night at the W.T. Watson Center.
 
That 12-point deficit for the Muleriders (6-4) came with 10:05 left to go in the first half and made the score 20-8 in favor of visiting Williams Baptist. Over the previous 3:55 of game time, Williams Baptist capitalized on a continued slow shooting start by SAU as the Eagles (6-5) ripped off a 12-0 run to break a previously tied game at eight all at the 14:00 mark of the first half.
 
On the next trip down the court after the Eagles reached their 12-point advantage, SAU would break their cold spell from the floor on a layup by Alvin Braddock. That bucket would spark an eventual 10-0 run to bring the Muleriders to within two points, 20-18, with 6:36 left in the opening half.
 
Williams Baptist would finally break the SAU run on a layup by Carter Clervereaux seconds later, but a three-pointer by Deon Andrews on the Muleriders' ensuing possession sparked yet another SAU run. This run lasted 1:35 and was a 9-0 spurt to surge the Muleriders ahead in the game, 27-22.
 
All told, both of those runs added up to a 19-2 advantage for the Muleriders during a five and a half minute stretch.
 
For the remainder of the first half, play would be tight as there were three tie scores and a pair of lead changes. SAU would grab the last of those lead changes with under a minute to play as Chauncy Williams buried a three-pointer to give the Muleriders a two-point lead. The Muleriders would eventually go into the locker room with a three-point lead, 39-36.
 
In the second half, the Muleriders would remain hot from the floor as they stretched their lead out to double digits at the 17:10 mark. Over the next 4:41, SAU would go on a 15-3 run to grab their largest lead of the game, 22 points, 64-42.
 
That dominating run would basically seal the deal for the Muleriders as the Eagles were only able to get as close as 14 points the rest of the way out.
 
Statistically, several Muleriders filled up the stat sheet as three players ended in double figures with 15 or more points. Chauncy Williams would lead the team in scoring with 21 points, but was followed closely behind by Deon Andrews with his season-high 20-point effort. Alre'k Brown was the third-leading scorer for SAU with 15 points and Brown would bolster that with 11 rebounds to pick up his third double-double of the season.
 
As a team, the Muleriders would dish out a season-high 21 assists. Tyrell Taylor led that charge with a season-high 10 assists.
 
The Muleriders will now prepare to jump back in to Great American Conference play as they will welcome in Henderson State to the W.T. Watson Center on Saturday, January 3. Tip-off for the game is slated for 4 p.m.
 
NOTE-WORTHY: With the game 20-8 in favor of Williams Baptist, SAU was shooting just 22% (4-of-18)…Over the remainder of the first half, SAU would shoot 58% (11-of-19) and over the remainder of the game SAU shot 50% (25-of-50)