MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team shot a season-high 60% overall from the floor (39-of-65) and poured in a season-best 60 points inside the paint as they also tied a season-high in points en route to muscling past Oklahoma Baptist by a score of 94-91 on Thursday night inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
With the win, the Muleriders (15-12, 12-9 GAC) keep positioning themselves for a better seed in the upcoming Great American Conference Basketball Championships, but it also ensures that they will finish with a winning record for the second-consecutive season; marking the first time since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons that a SAU men's basketball team has had consecutive winning seasons.
 
The win was also their 12th conference victory of the season, which sets a new program record for conference wins, besting the 11 they posted a year ago.
 
In the win, the Muleriders controlled a majority of the action, leading for just over 37 minutes of the game while also leading by as much as 12 points early in the second half. In that second half, however, the Bison (7-18, 3-18 GAC) would shot their way back into the game as they shot an outstanding 66% overall from the floor (19-of-29) with eight of those made field goals coming from beyond the arc as the Bison also shot 50% from distance of the final 20 minutes.
 
Despite the furious scoring outburst by the Bison in the second half that saw them grab a one-point lead mid-way through, SAU was able to ultimately able to stave them off and eventually come away with the victory as the Muleriders, themselves, also enjoyed a great shooting percentage in the that half by making 22-of-33 shots overall from the floor for a 67% field goal percentage.
 
In terms of individual production, the Muleriders had four players score in double figures with two starters and two bench players reaching that mark. Leading the way for the Muleriders in scoring was Kevin Jordan as he came off the bench and poured in a season-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
 
Just behind Jordan was Deon Andrews as he scored 17 points. 12 of those points for Andrews came from beyond the arc. A point back of Andrews was CJ Elkins with 16 and Alvin Braddock rounded double-figure scoring with 12 points off the bench.
 
The Muleriders will now turn their attention towards their final regular season opponent in Southern Nazarene as they welcome in the Crimson Storm to the W.T. Watson Center on Saturday afternoon. Being that it is the final overall game and final home game of the regular season, the Muleriders will be honoring their five seniors on this year's team following the conclusion of the preceding women's basketball game. Among those seniors being honored are Deon Andrews, Alvin Braddock, Desmond Champion, Jaron Davis, and Kevin Jordan.