MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Trailing by 10 points with 4:09 left in the game, the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team stormed back to tie the game at 76-all with 33 seconds left and had a chance for a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, but ultimately it was Texas A&M-Commerce who closed out 2016 with a win, beating SAU by a score of 78-76 on Saturday evening inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
RECORDS
Texas A&M-Commerce Lions (10-2)
Southern Arkansas Muleriders (5-5)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After A&M-Commerce grabbed that double-digit lead at the 4:09 mark, SAU began to methodically chip away at the deficit. The first basket during that late stretch was an emphatic dunk by Denarious Lockhart that trimmed the lead to eight points. Less than a minute later, Lockhart made it an eight-point game once more as he made 1-of-2 on a trip to the charity stripe.
• With 2:28 remaining, Snyder Cenecharles split a pair of free throws as well to make it a seven-point game, 74-67. Following that, the Muleriders ignited the New Year's Eve crowd with three-pointers on consecutive possessions to bring the game to within a single point, 74-73. Keeton Tennison was responsible for the first three-ball and CJ Elkins accounted for the second in that sequence.
• A&M-Commerce stemmed the tide on their ensuing possession with a layup to make it a three-point game, 76-73, with 1:01 left on the clock. 10 seconds of game time later, Elkins went to the free throw line and made it a two-point game as he split a pair of free throws.
• What followed was a chaotic series of events that saw the Muleriders be whistled for a foul, but then additionally awarded a pair of technical foul free throws after an administrative technical was issued to the A&M-Commerce bench prior to their free throw attempts. Tennison made good on both attempts and that tied the game at 76-all.
• Isaac Asrat then shot the initial two free throws awarded to the Lions following the called foul prior to the technical being assessed. Asrat split the opportunities and it was just a one-point game and SAU was going to be able to play for the final shot.
• On that possession, SAU turned the ball over on a drive to the hoop, but quickly fouled to send Daquane Willford to the line with under four seconds left in the game. Willford missed the first attempt and hit the second to make it a two-point game, 78-76.
• The Muleriders then quickly got the ball in and were able to get Tennison a quality look from long range for the win, but the shot did not fall and A&M-Commerce held on for the two-point victory

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Four Muleriders scored in double figures with CJ Elkins leading the way with 19 points. Snyder Cenecharles was next with a career-high 16 points and Denarious Lockhart and Darnell Jones-Bowie added 11 and 10 points, respectively
• Cenecharles fueled his career night on the strength of five made trifectas. It is the most three-pointers made in a game since Deon Andrews buried five against Southwestern Oklahoma last March. Cenecharles' previous career-high in points was 14, done twice this year
• On the glass, SAU out-rebounded the Lions 51-42. Bolstering that effort for the Muleriders was Denarious Lockhart as he hauled in a career-high 17 boards. 12 of those came on the defensive glass as well.
• As a team, the Muleriders hit nine 3-pointers, their second-most in a game this season. Additionally, the Muleriders blocked six shots in the game with five coming courtesy of Lockhart. The five blocks in the game tied a career-high as he swatted five shots earlier this season against Williams Baptist.

 
UP NEXT
The Muleriders will remain at home for their next two games as they also jump back into the heart of the Great American Conference schedule with a Thursday tilt against Oklahoma Baptist and a Saturday affair with Southern Nazarene. Thursday's game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip and Saturday is slated to begin at 3 p.m.