SHAWNEE, Okla. – Keeton Tennison dropped 21 points including five trifectas and Devante Brooks added a double-double with 11 points and a dozen boards, but Southern Arkansas' second-half surge fell short, 77-74, against Oklahoma Baptist on the road inside the Noble Complex on Saturday afternoon. It was the second time in three days that the Muleriders overcame a 15-point second-half deficit, but would not be able to pull away late as the Bison picked up its first Great American Conference win of the season.
 
Records
Oklahoma Baptist (2-2, 1-1 GAC)
Southern Arkansas (1-3, 0-2 GAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – 1^st HALF

• Keeton Tennison scored the game's first five points beginning with a three-pointer less than 45 seconds into the game and followed by a pair of free throws at the 18:50 mark of the first half.
• OBU's Caleb Norris put the Bison on the scoreboard with a three-pointer of his own which led to a 9-0 run giving the Bison a 9-5 lead just under two and a half minutes removed from the opening tip.
• Draylan Perkins knocked down a trifecta to end the brief Oklahoma Baptist run, but the Bison would put the next five point up to take a 14-8 lead with 16:12 remaining in the first half.
• The Oklahoma Baptist lead would not get larger than six over the next five minutes of action as the two teams traded buckets, before a three-pointer from Brantley Thompson gave the Bison their largest lead of the first half at 24-15 just under 11 minutes remaining in the opening twenty minutes.
• A trifecta from OBU's Travon Moore pushed the Bison advantage to a dozen, 35-23 with 6:50 to play in the first half, before the Muleriders managed a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to six.
• The run started with an inside bucket from Devante Brooks and followed with a Quinton Gillette three-pointer, before CJ Elkins laid in the run's final basket at the 4:14 with Southern Arkansas trailing 38-32.
• The Bison closed the half on an 8-4 run to take a 10-point lead, 46-36, into the intermission.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – 2^nd HALF

• Oklahoma Baptist would improve their lead to 15 at the 17:13 mark of the second half, but the Muleriders would manufacture its best stretch of the afternoon over the next seven and a half minutes.
• Trailing 54-39, Southern Arkansas engineered a 21-4 run including a 13-0 sequence that gave the Muleriders a 60-58 lead with 9:45 to play; their first lead of the game since the 18:35 mark of the first half.
• Two free throws from Tennison sparked the run at the 16:05 mark and the senior would add back-to-back three-pointers to close the gap to just three with 10:51 remaining. Sandwiched in the middle of that impressive offensive swing was six points from Aaron Lucas and buckets by Elkins and KJ Collins, while the go-ahead shot came from the three-point stroke of Perkins.
• That run would prevent the Bison from regaining any type of momentum as they failed to lead by more than a possession during the remainder of the game.
• Trailing by three with just under seven minutes to play, Tennison hit a three on the assist from Perkins to even up what had become a back-and-forth affair at 65.
• Almost three minutes later with 4:05 to play in the game, Tennison hit his final shot of the night to tie the ballgame at 70.
• The Muleriders would take the lead on their next trip down the court courtesy of a pair of free throws from Brooks which put Southern Arkansas up 2, 72-70, with 3:39 to play.
• Three free throws and a Chandler Rickey layup put Oklahoma Baptist out front 75-72 and Brooks followed with a dunk with 51 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 75-74.
• Oklahoma Baptist would be unable to put away the Muleriders late as they would only convert on a one of two free throws twice to lead 77-74.
• Elkins hoisted a shot at the horn that was a little strong as the Bison survived a yet another dynamic second half performance from Southern Arkansas.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Tennison dropped a season-high 21 points highlighted by a 62.5% shooting clip (5-of-8) from long range and added six rebounds in 31 minutes of action.
• Brooks followed with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and added a dozen rebounds for a double-double effort in a season-high 33 minutes of work.
• Elkins added nine points and both Gillette and Perkins finished with eight as both sank a pair of three-pointers.
• Southern Arkansas shot 45.0% (27-of-60) from the floor, 39.1% (9-of-23) from deep, and 64.7% (11-of-17) from the free throw line. The Muleriders led for just 3:26 including almost two and a half minutes in the second half.

 
 
UP NEXT
Southern Arkansas returns to Magnolia for its home opener inside the W.T. Watson Center and welcomes in Ecclesia College for a 6 p.m. tip-off November 20. Live coverage links available at www.muleriderathletics.com.