MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Trailing from the 4:09 mark of the first half, the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team battled valiantly and knotted the game at 63-all with 3:07 left in the second half, but visiting Southwestern Oklahoma would not relinquish their lead at that point, or for the remainder of the game as they eventually took a six-point win against SAU, 76-70, on Saturday evening inside the W.T. Watson Center.
The game-tying basket for the Muleriders (14-9, 10-7 GAC) ignited the crowd and came on a break-neck sequence of events following a missed SAU free throw shot. On that miss, SAU grabbed the offensive rebound and quickly kicked it out to the right wing where three-point specialist
Chauncy Williams was waiting. Williams then would catch, shoot, and bury the trifecta to knot the game at 63-all.
Unable to take the lead at that point, SAU was still within striking distance as they trailed by one point, 64-63, with 1:59 left to play. With 1:38 left, the Bulldogs' (12-11, 6-10 GAC) Trent Washington knocked down a deep three-pointer to make it a four-point SWOSU lead. Mere seconds later, however, Williams went coast-to-coast for a layup to once again make it a one-possession game.
On SWOSU's next trip down the court, however, Richard McCalop somehow knocked down a contested and off-balance three-pointer from the far corner to push the Bulldogs up by five points, 72-67, with 1:09 remaining in the game. From there, SWOSU would hold the Muleriders at bay as the Bulldogs iced the game away at the line over the final 30 seconds.
Statistically, the Muleriders would have two players score in double figures with Williams leading the way at 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Deon Andrews was next in scoring with 11 points. Three other Muleriders would add nine points each as well.
The Muleriders will now prepare for their longest road trip of the season as they are set to travel to Alva, Okla. to take on Northwestern Oklahoma on Thursday, February 19. Tip-off for the game is set for 7:30 p.m.
NOTES: Despite the loss, the Muleriders are still a half game out of second-place in the GAC standings after East Central and Harding both lost on Saturday as well.