Box Score
Photo Gallery (Photo Credits to Liz Chrisman, ATU University Relations)

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team saw their season draw to a close on Saturday afternoon as they fell short against Henderson State by a score of 73-60 in the semi-finals of the 2014 Great American Conference Tournament, which was held at the Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Okla.
 
The Muleriders (12-16) would start the game off strong as they shot 50% from the floor (12-of-24) and were 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the first half. Those high percentages resulted in the Muleriders leading for much of the half and eventually carrying a nine-point lead into the break, 35-26.
 
In the second half, the Reddies (14-16) would begin to slowly chip away at the Muleriders' lead. With 18:27 left in the game, the Muleriders once again led by nine points, 38-29, but a 10-0 run by the Reddies over the next five minutes of game time made it a 39-38 game in favor of the HSU with 13:34 remaining.
 
Over the next three minutes, the score would be tied three times and the lead would change hands twice. The final of those lead changes came with 10:27 left in the game as HSU's Melvin Haynes hit a three-pointer to break a 44-all tie.
 
A layup by SAU's Aaron Francis at the 9:50 mark, brought SAU to within a point, 47-46, but the Reddies would go on a game-changing 14-1 run over the next 6:24 of the game to take a 14-point lead, 61-47, with just under three and a half minutes to play. During that run, the Reddies were 4-of-8 from the floor, but they were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Conversely, the Muleriders' shooting went cold as they were 0-for-7 from the floor and 1-of-2 from the free throw line.
 
From there, the Reddies were able to keep the Muleriders at bay and punch their ticket into the championship game as they made good on all 10 of their free throw attempts down the stretch. During that same period of time, the Muleriders would only go to the line twice, making both attempts.
 
Four of the five starters for SAU would score in double figures with Tyrell Taylor and Jeffrey Walker each scoring 13 points to lead the team. Alre'k Brown would follow with 12 points while Chauncy Williams added 10 points. Taylor would also record a double-double as he dished out a game-high 10 assists.