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GAME NOTES | SAU | ECU |

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Tipping Off
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team is set to open up Great American Confernece play this weekend as they will be on the road taking on East Central on Thursday night and Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon. Last year, the Muleriders opened up their conference slate at home and came out of those two games 1-1 after a tough overtime loss to Southern Nazarene and a thrilling one-point win over Southeastern.

First up for the Muleriders is a clash against East Central. Last year, the Muleriders knocked off the Tigers at their place 59-58 thanks, in large part, to a tremendous
individual effort by Jaron Davis as he scored 30 points and made a pair of free throws to put SAU on top for good. The Muleriders will enter this game with ECU with a 1-1 record after opening their season against a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents in Minot State and the Univ. of Mary. SAU would take down Minot
State in the season-opener, but fell to UMary by a point, 77-76, in the second game of the GAC/NSIC Challenge.

SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
The East Central basketball team enters play with a 1-1 overall record and will be playing their first Great American Conference game against Southern Arkansas. The Tigers, like the Muleriders, opened up their 2015-16 season with a pair of games against teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) as part of the GAC/NSIC Challenge. ECU would win their first game against Concordia-St. Paul by a point, 82-81, but lost their second game to Minnesota Duluth 87-82. This will also be the ECU's home opener and the Tigers are 3-2 in home openers since the start of the 2010-11 season. 

So far this season, the Tigers are averaging a GAC-best 82.0 points per game, but their scoring defense ranks 11th in the GAC and sits at 84.0 points per game for a -2.0 scoring margin. A total of three Tigers are averaging double-figures in scoring with senior guard Stirling Thomas leading the team with 22.5 points per game. Thomas, who finished last season as the GAC's second-leading scorer, is currently the league's second-leading scorer this season.

COACH
The Tigers are coached by Ja Havens, who is in his third season at East Central. In his two previous seasons, Havens has led the Tigers to a 36-22 overall record, including a 21-win season last year. Additionally last year, Havens guided the Tigers to the championship game of the Great American Conference Tournament, but the Tigers ultimately fell just short, losing to Arkansas Tech, 80-77. It was the Tigers' first appearance in a league title game since the 1997-98 season.

LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
This will be the first meeting this year between the Muleriders and the Tigers. Last year, the two teams met twice with each team picking up a win on the road. SAU won the first meeting last year with a 59-58 win. In that game, Jaron Davis scored over half of the team's points with 30 and Davis also hit the two free throws that put SAU on top for
good in the waining seconds.

THE SERIES
This is the 21st meeting all-time between the Tigers and the Muleriders in a series that dates back to the 1930-31 season. Overall, ECU holds a 13-7 advantage over SAU. Since the 2011-12 season, these two teams have met twice a year as charter members of the Great American Conference. In that time, ECU holds a slim 5-3 edge.

ON TAP
The Muleriders will head over to Durant, Okla. to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State in another GAC matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside the Bloomer Sullivan Arena.