QUINCY, Ill. – Trailing by 14 points with just over a minute left in the game, the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team would score 14 points of their own in the final minute of the game, but six made free throws by Truman State over that time held off the furious Mulerider rally and secured a six-point win for the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Ill.
 
Early in the game, each team battled for control of the in-region contest as there were six tie scores and seven lead changes with neither team leading by more than six points through the first 16 minutes of play.
 
That back-and-forth tussle between the Muleriders (4-6) and the Bulldogs (9-3) would go away over the final four minutes of the first half, however, as the Bulldogs broke a 34-all tie at the 3:56 mark of the first half on a pair of free throws by Billy Daniel. From there, the Bulldogs would out-score the Muleriders 11-0 over the remainder of the half to go into the locker room with a 13-point lead, 47-34.
 
Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs would maintain a double-digit lead until the 8:24 mark of the second half when a three-point basket by Deon Andrews brought SAU to within nine points, 66-57. Just over two minutes later, Andrews buried another three-pointer to cap what was a 10-0 run by the Muleriders, bringing them to within four points, 66-62, with 6:40 left in the game.
 
A pair of free throws on the other end of the court by Truman made it a six-point game, but a conventional three-point play by CJ Elkins followed and brought the Muleriders to within a single-possession, three-points, 68-65 with 5:50 to go.
 
That would be as close as the Muleriders would get in the game, however, as the Bulldogs used the next 4:44 of game time to extend their lead out to 14 points with just over a minute left to play. From there, SAU would mount their comeback attempt, but clutch free throw shooting down the stretch held the Muleriders at bay.
 
Four Muleriders would score in double figures with Elkins leading the way with a career-high 19 points. Andrews was next with 17 points followed by Jaron Davis with 15 points. Denarious Lockhart rounded out double-figure scoring for SAU as he scored 13 points once more in his second action of the season. Lockhart also went 2-for-2 in posting a double-double as he hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
The Muleriders will not hit the hardwood again until the calendar flips to 2016 and when they do play again, it will be on the road at GAC-newcomer Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday, January 7. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla.