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GAME NOTES | SAU | SWOSU

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Tipping Off
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team is in the Great American Conference Basketball Championship Tournament for the fifth-straight year and fourth-straight under head coach Andy Sharpe. This season, the Muleriders finished the regular season in a tie for fourth-place with their opening-round opponent, Southwestern Oklahoma, but
tie-breaking procedures against SWOSU have slotted SAU as the No. 5-seed and SWOSU the No. 4-seed.

All-time, the Muleriders are 1-4 in the GAC Tournament with their win coming back in 2013-14 when SAU defeated then No. 2-seed Southwestern Oklahoma by a score of 63-59. As they enter the GAC Tournament, the Muleriders are one of the hottest teams going in having won three-straight and four of their last five games.
 

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MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team enters the Great American Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed after they concluded their regular season with a 16-12 overall record while finishing with a 13-9 mark in the GAC to finish in a tie for forth-place in the regular season standings.

As they enter the GAC Tournament, the Muleriders will be one of the hottest teams as they have won their last three games and four of their last five overall. During that late-season surge, the Muleriders are averaging 82.0 points per game and shooting 52% overall from the floor as well.

On the season, the Muleriders are averaging 76.8 points per game, which ranks fourth in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders rank fourth in scoring defense in the GAC at 73.9 points per game, and their +3.0 scoring margin ranks fourth in the league.

As a team, the Muleriders are shooting .469 (808-of-1,722) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .325 (161-of-495) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders are shooting .614 (374-of-609). Their overall field goal percentage ranks second 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 five players who are averaging double figures in scoring with Jaron Davis leading the team at 12.4 points per game. Deon Andrews is next on the team at 11.8 ppg. while CJ Elkins is just behind Andrews averaging 11.5 ppg. Denarious Lockhart and Alvin Braddock round out double-digit scoring at 10.0 ppg. each.

The leading rebounder on the team in terms of rebounding average in Denarious Lockhart with 7.9 rpg through 20 games played. Alvin Braddock, however, leads the team in total rebounds with 181. Jaron Davis is the top assist man on the team with an average of 3.9 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 SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
The Southwestern Oklahoma men's basketball team enters the Great American Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed after they concluded their regular season with a 17-11 overall record while finishing with a 13-9 mark in the GAC to finish in a tie for forth-place in the regular season standings.

On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 75.1 points per game, which ranks seventh in the GAC. Defensively, the Bulldogs rank seventh in scoring defense in the GAC at 75.1 points per game, and their +0.0 scoring margin ranks sixth in the league.

As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting .419 (718-of-1,714) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .340 (249-of-733) from long range. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs are shooting .684 (418-of-611). Their overall field goal percentage ranks 12th in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks ninth. At the charity stripe the Bulldogs' percentage ranks eighth.

Individually, the Bulldogs have two players who are averaging double figures in scoring with Martell Collins leading the team at 18.8 points per game. Markeise Champion is next in scoring at 13.8 ppg. and Emeche Wells is just outside double-digit scoring at 9.4 ppg. Juwan Newman is the leading rebounder on the team at 8.5 rebounds per game. Markeise Champion is the top assist man on the team with an average of 3.3 assists per game.

COACH
The Bulldogs are coached by Bob Battisti, who is in his third season at Southwestern Oklahoma. In his first two seasons, Battisti has amassed 33-23 record. Before taking over at SWOSU, Battisti was the head coach at GAC-rival Northwestern Oklahoma for 21 years, spanning 1986-87 through 2006-07. While at Northwestern, Battisti was 374-265 overall.

THE SERIES
This will be the 12th meeting all-time between the Muleriders and Bulldogs. SWOSU currently leads the series 8-3 and they have won the last three meetings overall. This will also be the second time that the two will meet in the Great American Conference Tournament as SAU knocked off SWOSU by a score of 63-59 in the opening round of the 2013-14 GAC Tournament.