LANCASTER, Texas – The 2017-18 season for the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team got off to a tough start on Friday night as the Muleriders dropped the opening game of their new campaign to Minot State, 84-70 as part of the GAC/NSIC Crossover Challenge played at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Texas.
 
RECORDS
Minot State Beavers (1-0)
Southern Arkansas Muleriders (0-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Minot State grabbed the game's first points on a pair of free throw makes by David Akibo just over 30 seconds into the contest, but the score would remain 2-0 until the 16:34 mark as both teams struggled to get in rhythm offensively. At that 16:34 mark, SAU knotted the game on two free throw makes by Keeton Tennison.
• Just under a minute later, Braydon Powell knocked down a jumper to knot the game at four-all. The next trip down the court, however, Minot's Russ Davis buried a three-pointer to give the Beavers the lead.
• From there, the Beavers would not trail the remainder of the game and pushed their lead out to as many as 19 with 5:14 left in the opening half. The Muleriders battled back and trimmed that deficit in half with just 44 seconds before the break as Draylan Perkins nailed his second-consecutive triple. The Beavers would get a last-second bucket to make it a 10-point lead for Minot heading into the locker room.
• Within the first couple of minutes in the second half, SAU had pulled to seven points, 42-35, on a tip-in by CJ Elkins, but another three-pointer by Minot's Davis on the ensuing possession made it a double-digit advantage once more.
• A layup by Wesley Nosakhare quickly followed to bring the game within single digits with 17:36 to play, but that would be as close as the Muleriders could get as the Beavers eventually regained a double-digit margin and maintained it the rest of the way out; ending with a 14-point win over SAU.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Three of the five starters scored in double figures for the Muleriders with newcomer Draylan Perkins leading the way with a game-high 18 points. Perkins was 6-of-10 overall and 4-of-5 from three-point range.
• The next leading scorer was CJ Elkins with 17 points. Elkins was 5-of-11 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
• Newcomer Wesley Noshakare rounded out double-figure scoring with an 11-point effort on an unblemished 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
• Both teams shot over 40% in the game, but also struggled early. SAU missed their first four shots from the floor while Minot came up empty on their first eight field goal attempts.

 
UP NEXT
The Muleriders will try to bounce back quickly as they will face another tough opponent in Minnesota State-Moorhead. The Dragons made the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight season a year ago, but dropped their season-opener as well, losing the Henderson State, 93-80. Tip-off between SAU and MSU-Moorhead is scheduled for Noon on Saturday.