BETHANY, Okla. – In a back-and-forth Great American Conference clash between Southern Arkansas and Southern Nazarene that saw a total of five tie scores and 12 lead changes throughout the game, it was SAU that broke the final tie and ripped off a 7-0 run over the final 55 seconds of the game to secure the road win by that margin, 75-68, over SNU on Saturday afternoon at the Sawyer Center.
 
The win for the Muleriders (6-6, 3-3 GAC) over Southern Nazarene on Saturday is the first-ever victory for SAU over the Crimson Storm (4-8, 3-3 GAC) since the series began back in 2012-13. It also evens up the Muleriders' overall and conference records.
 
Prior to that late-game run by the Muleriders, Southern Nazarene had employed a 7-0 run of their own from the 4:25 mark to the 3:19 mark to turn a four-point SAU lead into a three-point Crimson Storm advantage, 63-60.
 
With just under three minutes to play, however, the momentum of the game began to swing to the Muleriders as junior big man Denarious Lockhart threw down an impressive one-handed ally-oop dunk off of an inbounds play to pull SAU to within a point, 63-62.
 
The Crimson Strom would answer right back with a three-pointer on the other end of the court to push the lead to four points, but that did not kill the momentum for SAU as CJ Elkins buried one of his four trifectas of the game on the next trip down the court.
 
Seconds later, following a missed three-pointer by Southern Nazarene, SAU's Deon Andrews nailed a three-pointer to put the Muleriders up by a pair with just over a 1:30 left to go in the game.
 
On SNU's next trip down the floor, Franciso Hukill would be fouled sending him to the line with a chance to tie the game at 68-all with 1:08 remaining. Hukill made good on both tries from the charity stripe to knot the game up for the fifth time.
 
On SAU's ensuing possession, Jaron Davis drove hard in the paint and made a layup while getting fouled to send him to the line for an old fashioned three-point play. Davis would make good on the free throw, giving the Muleriders a three-point lead, 71-68.
 
The two teams would trade turnovers following Davis' three-point play which allowed SNU's Hukill an opportunity to tie the game once more as he tried a three-pointer with 35 seconds left in the game. Hukill would miss, however, and SAU's Andrews cleared the defensive board and got the ball into the hands of Davis before Southern Nazarene was forced to foul Davis with 26 seconds left.
 
Davis, the team's top-free throw shooter on the season coming in at 89%, made good on both attempts to give SAU a five-point lead, 73-68.
 
The Crimson Storm would try another three-pointer to make it a two-point game, but it drew iron and Andrews once more pulled down the big defensive rebound, effectively ending the game there, but the game would officially close as Lockhart threw down a breakaway dunk after Andrews had cleared the board.
 
In the game, three players would score in double figures for SAU with two others adding nine points. The leading scorer for the Muleriders was Elkins as he scored 18 points. Lockhart and De'Sean Dockery were next in scoring with 11 each and Keeton Tennison and Davis added nine points, respectively.
 
As a team, the Muleriders would shot an even 50% overall from the floor (29-of-58) which included a 47% (9-of-19) success rate from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Mulerider defense was stout as they held the Crimson Strom to just 38% (23-of-61) shooting overall from the floor and 27% (9-of-33) from the three-point line.
 
Neither team shot free throws particularly well as SAU shot 44% (8-of-18) from the charity stripe and SNU shot 57% (13-of-23), but the Muleriders were clutch from the line when they needed it the most, going 3-for-3 over the final minute of the game to help seal the victory.
 
The Muleriders will now return home for their first game inside the W.T. Watson Center in over a month as they are set to take on Henderson State on Thursday, January 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.