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GAME NOTES | SAU | HU

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Tipping Off
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team is set to embark on a week-long, three-game home stand starting tonight with a clash with GAC-leading Harding. Tonight's game with Harding is the makeup of last Thursday's scheduled game that was forced to be postponed due to potential hazardous road conditions within the state of Arkansas.

This game will also mark the halfway point of the GAC schedule for both the Muleriders and the Bisons as it will be each team's 11th GAC game of their 22-game league schedule the season.

Last season, the Muleriders and Bisons met three times with the Bisons taking the last two games including an 89-77 win in the opening round of the GAC Tournament. The one win for the Muleriders in last year's series came at home when SAU edged the Bisons by two points, 64-62.
 

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MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team enters play this Thursday with a 9-7 overall record and a 6-4 mark in the Great American Conference. The Muleriders recently saw their season-long five-game winning streak get snapped in a road game at Ouachita on Saturday.

On the season, the Muleriders are averaging 77.9 points per game, which ranks fifth in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders rank sixth in scoring defense in the GAC at 75.3 points per game, and their +2.6 scoring margin ranks fifth in the league.

As a team, the Muleriders are shooting .468 (462-of-988) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .350 (111-of-317) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders are shooting .632 (211-of-334). Their overall field goal percentage ranks third in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks seventh. At the charity
stripe the Muleriders' percentage ranks 12th.

Individually, the Muleriders have five players who are averaging double figures in scoring with Jaron Davis leading the team at 15.8 points per game. Davis's scoring average ranks ninth in the GAC. Deon Andrews is next on the team at 12.4 ppg and just behind Andrews is Denarious Lockhart with 12.4 ppg . CJ Elkins is next with 11.8 ppg. and
rounding out double-figure scoring on the season is Alvin Braddock at 10.0 ppg.

The leading rebounder on the team in terms of rebounding average in Lockhart with 7.1 rpg through seven games played. Braddock, however, leads the team in total rebounds with 101. Davis is the top assist man on the team with an average of 4.8 assists per game.

COACH
The Muleriders are coached by Andy Sharpe, who is in his fourth season at Southern Arkansas. In his time at SAU, Sharpe has amassed a 41-51 overall record. Last season Sharpe led SAU to a 15-12 overall record and finished tied for third in the GAC with an 11-9 mark in the league. The above .500 season was the program's first winning campaign since the 2001-02 season, while the 15 wins overall tied for the second-most wins in a season since SAU joined NCAA Division II prior to the 1995-96 season. Additionally, the 11 conference wins were the most in the DII era.
 

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SCOUTING HARDING
The Harding men's basketball team enters play this Saturday with a 9-6 overall record and an 8-2 mark in the Great American Conference, which has them currently tied for first-place. The Bisons have won their last two games which have featured a 102-83 road win over Arkansas Tech and a 76-54 win at home over Henderson State.

On the season, the Bisons are averaging 80.1 points per game, which ranks first in the GAC. Defensively, the Bisons rank first in scoring defense in the GAC at 72.6 points per game, and their +7.5 scoring margin ranks second in the league.

As a team, the Bisons are shooting .471 (432-of-917) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .387 (158-of-408) from long range. From the free throw line, the Bisons are shooting .703 (180-of-256). Their overall field goal percentage ranks first in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks fifth. At the charity stripe the Bisons' percentage ranks fifth.

Individually, the Bisons have four players who are averaging double figures in scoring with Jacob Gibson leading the team at 14.4 points per game. Gibson's scoring average ranks in a tie for 16th in the GAC. Will Francis is next in double figures on the team at 13.2 ppg. Blake McNair is next at 12.7 ppg. while Stefan Andelkovic rounds out double-digit scoring at 10.5 ppg.

Andelkovic is the leading rebounder on the team at 5.1 rebounds per game. Francis is the top assist man on the team with an average of 4.3 assists per game.

COACH
The Bisons are coached by Jeff Morgan, who is in his 23rd year as the head coach at Harding. Overall, Morgan is in 24th season as a head coach after spending his first season at his alma mater, West Texas A&M. Since taking over at Harding, Morgan has amassed a 385-258 overall record. Five times, Morgan has won 20 or more games in a season and he has led the Bisons to the NCAA Tournament five times while capturing the GAC Tournament Championship in 2014.
 

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THE SERIES
This will be the 35th meeting since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season between the Muleriders and the Bisons. In that time, the Bisons have a 25-9 advantage over the Muleriders which includes a 9-8 record in games played inside the W.T. Watson Center. 

ON TAP
The Muleriders will continue their week-long three-game home stand with a Thursday matchup with East Central. Earlier this season, the Muleriders beat ECU 85-70 in Ada. Tip-off for the second meeting of the year is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.