WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Senior forward Tony Aska recorded his first double-double of the season with a 10-point, 12-rebound effort against Southwestern Oklahoma, but the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team fell just short in the game, falling to SWOSU 80-76, on Saturday afternoon inside the Rankin Williams Fieldhouse.
 
RECORDS
Southern Arkansas Muleriders (5-3, 3-1 GAC)
Southwestern Oklahoma Bulldogs (1-6, 1-3 GAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Defense prevailed early in the game as it was just a four-all game through the first four minutes of action, but a 12-2 run by the Bulldogs over about a three-minute stretch gave SWOSU a double-digit lead.
• With just over 12 minutes left on the clock, SWOSU had their largest lead of the half as a Devin Pugh basket gave the Bulldogs an 11-point lead, 18-7. The Muleriders stormed back with a 9-0 run to pull to within a pair of points, 18-16, with 10:28 remaining in the half.
• SWOSU remained in front of the Muleriders until a pair of DeSean Dockery free throws at the 2:28 mark put SAU up by a point, 34-33. About a minute later, Dockery cashed in two more free throws, which gave SAU a two-point lead, but the game went into the locker room with a tie score as SWOSU made good on a layup in the waning seconds.
• Early play in the second half remained razor-thin close with eight separate lead changes occurring in the first five-plus minutes of action.
• At the end of that sequence, SWOSU had established a five-point lead thanks to consecutive three-balls from Pugh. That would be the largest lead of the second half for the Bulldogs.
• With 11:05 left on the clock, SAU took another slim one-point lead on an Aska layup. That led to another back-and-forth sequence over the next five minutes or so that saw two tie scores and four lead changes.
• Tied at 69-all with 3:29 left, SWOSU's Markeise Champion buried a three-pointer. Seconds later, it was a five-point advantage as Altez Davis hit a pair of free throws.
• SAU was able to get to within a point, 75-74, with 1:23 remaining thanks to a pair of free throws by Keeton Tennison.
• With that score and under a minute to play, SWOSU pulled down a key defensive rebound allowing them to milk some game clock on the ensuing possession. At the end of that trip down the court, the Muleriders were whistled for a foul on a three-point attempt by Champion with just 12 ticks left.
• Champion made good on all three attempts and following a quick basket by Snyder Cenecharles, Champion put the game away with two more free throws, bringing the game to its final of 80-76 in favor of SWOSU.

 
                             
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• In the second half alone, there were five tie scores and 13 lead changes. Additionally, the largest lead for either team in the half was five points.
• All told for the game, there were 10 tie scores and 17 lead changes with the largest lead on either side being 11 points.
• SAU had four players reach double figures in scoring with CJ Elkins leading the way with 16. Tennison was next with 12 while Aska and Cenecharles each had 10 points.

 
UP NEXT
The Muleriders will now have an extended time off the court as their next game will not come until December 29 as they will play host to Central Baptist College that day with a schedule tip-off time of 7 p.m.