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GAME NOTES | SAU | HU | OUA

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Tipping Off
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team is coming off an electric 86-69 home win over Arkansas-Monticello this past Monday during "Rivalry Night" in the Great American Conference.

That win was huge for the Muleriders as it keeps them in line for a berth into the 2016 GAC Basketball Championships coming up during the first week of March.

As they currently stand, the Muleriders are in a tie for fourth-place in the conference standings with a 10-8 record in league play. 

The Muleriders are also two games ahead of Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma as those two teams are tied for the final tournament spot at 8-10 in the GAC.

This upcoming two-game slate is very pivotal for the Muleriders as each are ahead of the Muleriders in the standings and wins against them would bolster SAU standings in the conference.

First up, is a tough road test at Harding this Thursday and then a home game against Ouachita on Saturday. The road game at Harding is the final regular season road game this season for SAU.
 

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MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 13-11 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the Great American Conference. The Muleriders are coming off an impressive 86-69 win at home against Arkansas-Monticello on "Rivialry Night" in the GAC this past Monday.

On the season, the Muleriders are averaging 76.1 points per game, which ranks fifth in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders rank second in scoring defense in the GAC at 73.3 points per game, and their +2.8 scoring margin ranks fourth in the league.

As a team, the Muleriders are shooting .460 (682-of-1,482) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .329 (146-of-444) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders are shooting .628 (317-of-505). Their overall field goal percentage ranks third in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks 10th. At the charity stripe the Muleriders' percentage ranks 12th.

Individually, the Muleriders have four players who are averaging double figures in scoring with Jaron Davis leading the team at 13.2 points per game. Davis's scoring average ranks 20th in the GAC. CJ Elkins is next on the team at 11.8 ppg. Deon Andrews is just behind Elkins averaging 11.4 ppg. Rounding out double-figure scoring on the season is Denarious Lockhart at 10.3 ppg.

The leading rebounder on the team in terms of rebounding average in Lockhart with 7.8 rpg through 16 games played. Alvin Braddock, however, leads the team in total rebounds with 155. Davis is the top assist man on the team with an average of 4.1 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 weekend with a 14-9 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the Great American Conference. The Bisons are coming off of an emotional 79-76 win at home against Arkansas Tech this past Monday as part of "Rivalry Night" in the GAC.

On the season, the Bisons are averaging 80.6 points per game, which ranks second in the GAC. Defensively, the Bisons rank third in scoring defense in the GAC at 73.5 points per game, and their +7.0 scoring margin ranks second in the league.

As a team, the Bisons are shooting .472 (662-of-1,402) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .394 (244-of-619) from long range. From the free throw line, the Bisons are shooting .720 (285-of-396). Their overall field goal percentage ranks first in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage also ranks first. At the charity stripe the Bisons' percentage ranks second.

Individually, the Bisons have five players who are averaging double figures in scoring with Jacob Gibson leading the team at 15.6 points per game. Will Francis is next in scoring at 13.3 ppg. and Blake McNair is right behind with 12.9 ppg. Reggie Anthony is averaging 10.8 ppg. and Stefan Andelkovic rounds out double-digit scoring at 10.2 ppg.

Andelkovic is the leading rebounder on the team at 5.2 rebounds per game. Francis is the top assist man on the team with an average of 4.4 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.

THE SERIES
This will be the 36th meeting since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season between the Muleriders and the Bisons. In that time, the Bisons hold a 26-8 advantage, including a 14-1 advantage in games in Searcy. The last win for SAU in Searcy was back in 2002 when the Muleriders beat the Bisons 92-78.
 

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SCOUTING OUACHITA
The Ouachita men's basketball team enters play this weekend with an 14-10 overall record and a 14-10 mark in the Great American Conference. The Tigers have won two in a row including an 86-79 win at home over Henderson State on "Rivalry Night" in the GAC this past Monday.

On the season, the Tigers are averaging 77.6 points per game, which ranks fourth in the GAC. Defensively, the Tigers also rank fourth in scoring defense in the GAC at 73.7 points per game, and their +4.0 scoring margin ranks third in the league.

As a team, the Tigers are shooting .454 (648-of-1,428) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .391 (193-of-493) from long range. From the free throw line, the Tigers are shooting .747 (374-of-501). Their overall field goal percentage ranks fourth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks second. At the charity stripe the Tigers' percentage ranks first.

Individually, the Tigers have three players who are averaging double figures in scoring with Tirrell Brown leading the team at 16.1 points per game. Lakee Westbrook is next at 15.6 ppg. Justin McCleary rounds out double-digit scoring at 13.6 ppg. while David Berete is just outside that mark at 9.2 ppg.

Brown is the leading rebounder on the team at 7.0 rebounds per game. Jordan Corbitt is the top assist man on the team with an average of 2.7 assists per game.

COACH
The Tigers are coached by Dennis Nutt, who is in his fifth year at Ouachita. In his previous four seasons, Nutt has compiled a 62-47 overall record. Prior to his time at Ouachita, Nutt was the head coach at Texas State for six years where he went 72-96 overall with the Bobcats.

THE SERIES
This will be the 34th meeting since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season between the Muleriders and the Tigers. In that time, the Tigers hold a 20-13 advantage over SAU.