SHAWNEE, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team welcomed in the New Year in style as they emphatically snapped a four-game losing skid with a convincing 78-67 win on the road at Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday night.
 
In the win, the Muleriders (5-6, 2-3 GAC) featured an efficient and well-balanced offensive attack against the Bison (5-4, 1-4 GAC) as SAU shot just under 50% (31-of-65) as a team overall from the floor with five players scoring in double figures.
 
Leading the way for the Muleriders in terms of scoring was Jaron Davis as he scored 14 points, thanks in large part to four knock-down three-pointers on the evening. Next in scoring was Denarious Lockhart as he scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Four of Lockhart's six made field goals came above the rim as he hammered home four dunks, all of which came off of assists by his teammates.
 
Deon Andrews and Tony Aska each poured in 11 points, respectively; while CJ Elkins added 10 points of his own to round out double figure scoring for the Muleriders. Elkins would also display an ability to facilitate the SAU offense as he dished out a season-high seven assists to lead the team. Just off of double-figure scoring was Keeton Tennison as he buried a trio of trifectas to post a season-high nine points off the bench.
 
As far as the game action, the Muleriders dominated a majority of the game as the Bison's largest lead was just three points at the 17:18 mark of the first half. In fact, that would be their last time out in front of the Muleriders as an Andrews' three-pointer at the 15:54 mark of the opening period gave SAU a lead they would not relinquish. In fact, the Muleriders would take a 19-point lead into the locker room and maintained a comfortable double-digit edge throughout the length of the second half before ending the game with an 11-point advantage.
 
Additionally in the win, the Muleriders would also dominate several key stat categories as they out-rebounded the Bison 40-24 with 12 of those boards coming on the offensive glass to help SAU hold a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points.
 
The Muleriders will look to build on their solid start to 2016 as they will now travel to Bethany, Okla. to take on Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon. Scheduled tip-off is set for 3 p.m. inside the Sawyer Center.