By: By: Daniel Gallegos
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SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
3-3 (0-2 GAC)
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EAST CENTRAL
TIGERS
2-1 (2-0 GAC)
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SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
SAVAGE STORM
2-4 (1-1 GAC)
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
TIPPING OFF: Muleriders open GAC at home
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team continues its five-game homestand this weekend as they play host to East Central on Thursday and Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday. The Muleriders' first two games of the homestand were convincing non-conference victories over Ecclesia College and Baptist Bible College. In those two games, the average margin of victory was 52 points.
Jumping back into conference action this weekend, the games with ECU and SE will be the first GAC contests at home for the Muleriders as they opened up league play on the road prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday break.
In those two games, SAU came out on the short end twice at Southern Nazarene and at Oklahoma Baptist, but displayed a gritty second half comeback effort each time.
MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 3-3 overall record and an 0-2 record in GAC play. The Muleriders are on a two-game winning streak after decisive blowouts at home against Ecclesia College and Baptist Bible College. In those two games, the Muleriders out-scored their opponents by a combined 104 points.
On the season, the Muleriders are averaging 86.5 points per game, which ranks third in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders rank sixth in scoring defense in the GAC at 71.0 points per game, and their +15.5 scoring margin ranks second in the league.
As a team, the Muleriders are shooting .464 (182-of-392) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .411 (53-of-129) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders are shooting .699 (102-of-146). Their overall field goal percentage ranks fifth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks third. At the charity stripe the Muleriders' percentage ranks ninth.
Individually, the Muleriders have three players who are averaging double figures in scoring with
CJ Elkins leading the team at 14.3 points per game.
Keeton Tennison is next at 11.7 ppg and Draylan Perkins rounds out double figure scoring with a 11.3 ppg average.
The leading rebounder on the team early on is DeVante Brooks with 5.3 rpg. Elkins is the top assist man on the team with an average of 2.2 assists per game.
COACH
The Muleriders are coached by
Andy Sharpe, who is in his sixth season at Southern Arkansas. In his five previous seasons at SAU, Sharpe is 67-74.
Since the 2014-15 season, Sharpe has turned the Muleriders into serious contenders in the Great American Conference as SAU has won 35 conference games and have finished in the top half of the standings each year as well. The first two seasons in this recent stretch saw the Muleriders post consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
As far as post-season play is concerned, Sharpe has led the Muleriders to the GAC Tournament all five years at the helm and has advanced the team to the semi-finals twice with opening round wins in 2014 and 2016. Under Sharpe, SAU is one of only three schools that have made the GAC Tournament in five-consecutive seasons; joining Arkansas Tech and Harding.
SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
The East Central men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 2-1 overall record and a 2-0 record in the GAC. The Tigers opened their season with three-straight exhibition games against NCAA DI opponents before starting their year in earnest with wins over Arkansas Tech and Harding.
On the season, the Tigers are shooting .416 (74-of-178) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .292 (19-of-65) from long range. From the free throw line, the Tigers are shooting .619 (39-of-69). Their overall field goal percentage ranks ninth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks 11th. At the charity stripe the Tigers' percentage ranks 10th.
So far this season, the Tigers are averaging 68.7 points per game offensively, and are allowing 70.7 points per game defensively. Their points per game scoring ranks 11th in the GAC while their scoring defense per game ranks fourth in the league.
Currently three Tigers players are averaging double-figures in scoring with Brett Cannon leading the team at 15.0 points per game. Da'Rion King is next at 13.7 ppg and Gabe McKenzie rounds out double figure scoring early on with a 10.7 ppg average. King is the team's leading rebounder at 11.7 rebounds per game. Cannon is the team's top assist man at 4.3 assists per game.
COACH
The Tigers are coached by Ja Havens, who is in his fifth season at East Central. In his four previous seasons, Havens has led the Tigers to a 83-38 overall record. In each of the last three years, Havens' Tigers have won 20 or more games including a 25-8 record last year.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, East Central used a huge second half to upend the Muleriders 95-76 in a game played in Ada on January 28 of last year.
THE SERIES
This is the 18th meeting between SAU and ECU since the 1997-98 season. During that time, the series is tied 8-8 lead. Both SAU and ECU became charter members of the Great American Conference and started to play as conference foes in 2011-12. In that time, SAU holds a slim 6-5 advantage.
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
The Southeastern Oklahoma men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 2-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the GAC. The Savage Storm began the year with a pair of Division I exhibition games before taking part in the GAC/MIAA Challenge where they went 0-2. Southeastern picked up their first win of the year at home against Harding to open GAC play.
On the season, the Savage Storm are averaging 71.3 points per game, which ranks eighth in the GAC. Defensively, the Savage Storm are allowing 77.5 points per game, ranking their scoring defense ninth in the GAC. Their -6.2 scoring margin ranks ninth in the league.
As a team, the Savage Storm are shooting .404 (146-of-361) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .273 (47-of-172) from long range. From the free throw line, the Savage Storm are shooting .736 (89-of-121). Their overall field goal percentage ranks 11th in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks 12th. At the charity stripe the Savage Storm's percentage ranks fourth.
Individually, two Savage Storm players are averaging double figures with Kevin Buckingham leading the way at 15.2 points per game. Markell Henderson rounds out double-figure scoring at 12.0 ppg while two others are averaging at least 9.0 points a game . Buckingham is the team's leading rebounder at 6.3 boards per game. The top assist man on the team is Bobby Johnson with 3.2 assists per game.
COACH
The Savage Storm are coached by Kelly Green, who is in his seventh season as the head coach at Southeastern Oklahoma. In his first six seasons, Green has amassed a 74-95 overall record. Prior to his time at Southeastern, Green spent 14 seasons as the head coach at Arizona Western where he guided that junior college program to a 342-107 record.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, the Muleriders edged Southeastern Oklahoma by a point, 66-65, thanks to a clutch and-one conversion by
Tony Aska with 10 seconds left in the game.
THE SERIES
This is the 48th meeting all-time between Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma with SAU holding a 26-21 lead in the series. Since the two became conference rivals at the beginning of the 2011-12 season, the Muleriders hold an 8-4 record over the Savage Storm.
