By: By: Daniel Gallegos
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SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
7-7 (3-5 GAC) |
OUACHITA
TIGERS
5-8 (3-5 GAC) |
HENDERSON STATE
REDDIES
7-7 (2-6 GAC) |
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
Tipping Off
After starting the year 0-5 in Great American Conference play, the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team has won their last three league games and have vaulted themselves into a tie for seventh place in the GAC standings heading into this weekend's slate of games.
After a postponement of a "Rivalry Night" matchup with Arkansas-Monticello this past Tuesday, the Muleriders now shift their focus to their Thursday home game with Ouachita and their Saturday road contest at Henderson State.
The Ouachita game will now begin a home-heavy upcoming slate for SAU as the Muleriders will be at home for four of their next five games. The postponement of that UAM game to next Tuesday now gives the Muleriders three-straight home games over a span of five days next week.
To this point in the season, the Muleriders are 4-2 at home and under head coach
Andy Sharpe they are 50-28 over the past six seasons.
SCOUTING OUACHITA
The Ouachita men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 5-8 overall record and are 3-5 in the Great American Conference. The Tigers dropped their most-recent game at Harding and have lost seven of their last eight games. The lone victory in that stretch was an 82-78 home win against reigning GAC regular season champion, Arkansas-Monticello.
As a team, the Tigers are shooting .458 (330-of-720) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .379 (110-of-290) from long range. From the free throw line, the Tigers are shooting .672 (158-of-235). Their overall field goal percentage ranks sixth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks fourth. At the charity stripe the Tigers' percentage ranks 10th.
So far this season, the Tigers are averaging 71.4 points per game offensively, and are allowing 72.7 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 and their -1.3 scoring margin ranks eighth.
Currently three Tigers are averaging double-figures in scoring with Mahlon Martin leading the team with 12.5 points per game. Matt Stanley is next at 10.5 ppg and Jontavis Willis rounds out double figure scoring with 10.0 ppg. Stanley is also the team's leading rebounder at 4.3 rebounds per game. Martin is the team's top assist man at 3.6 assists per game.
COACH
The Tigers are coached by Dennis Nutt, who is in his seventh year at Ouachita. In his previous six seasons, Nutt has compiled a 95-74 overall record. Prior to his time at Ouachita, Nutt was the head coach at Texas State for six years where he went 72-96 overall with the Bobcats.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, Ouachita held on for an overtime victory after SAU's
Keeton Tennison buried a pair of three-pointers over the final minute to force OT.
THE SERIES
This is the 37th meeting since 1999-2000 between SAU and Ouachita and the Tigers hold a 21-15 advantage. SAU and Ouachita have met at least twice a year in that time with the two reconnecting as conference opponents in 2001-02.
SCOUTING HENDERSON STATE
The Henderson State men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 7-7 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the Great American Conference. The Reddies lost their most-recent game on the road at Arkansas-Monticello, but playing at home will be a
welcomed sight as the Reddies are 5-2 at home on the year and have won their last four.
On the season, the Reddies are averaging 82.6 points per game, which ranks fourth in the GAC. Defensively, the Reddies are allowing 79.1 points per game, ranking their scoring defense eighth in the GAC. Their +3.6 scoring margin ranks seventh in the league.
As a team, the Reddies are shooting .465 (408-of-878) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .325 (95-of-292) from long range. From the free throw line, the Reddies are shooting .786 (246-of-313). Their overall field goal percentage ranks fifth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks 12th. At the charity stripe the Reddies' percentage ranks first.
Individually, three Reddies are averaging double figures with Kaylon Tappin leading the way at 19.2 points per game. Josh Jones is next in scoring at 14.8 ppg, and Chris Parker round out double figure scoring at 13.2 ppg. Brad Narin is the team's leading
rebounder at 5.8 boards per game. Parker is the top assist man on the team at 4.4 assists per game.
COACH
The Reddies are coached by Jimmy Elgas, who is in his third season at Henderson State. In his two seasons at Henderson, Elgas is 24-32.
Prior to becoming head coach at Henderson, Elgas was the top assistant at the University of Evansville. While at Evansville, Eglas helped lead the Aces to five post-season appearances.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, SAU beat Henderson, 74-64, at home in early February. In that game, SAU out-scored Henderson 40-25 in the second half.
THE SERIES
This is the 44th meeting since 1997-98 between SAU and Henderson State with the two teams meeting at least twice a year in that time as conference opponents. This portion of the all-time series is controlled by Henderson, 27-16, but SAU has won four of the last six.
MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 7-7 overall record and a 3-5 record in GAC play. The Muleriders have won their last three games, all in conference play, and are averaging 84.0 points per game with a +16.0 scoring margin as well during this stretch.
On the season, the Muleriders are averaging 81.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders rank third in scoring defense in the GAC at 71.1 points per game, and their +10.1 scoring margin ranks third in the league.
As a team, the Muleriders are shooting .453 (397-of-877) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .375 (124-of-331) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders are shooting .684 (219-of-320). Their overall field goal percentage ranks seventh while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks fifth. Their free throw percentage ranks ninth in the GAC.
Individually, the Muleriders have three players who are averaging double figures in scoring with
CJ Elkins and
Draylan Perkins leading the team at 13.6 points per game each.
Keeton Tennison rounds out double figure scoring with an 11.2 ppg average.
The leading rebounder on the team is
DeVante Brooks with 6.4 rpg, while the top assist man on the team is Elkins with an average of 3.2 assists per game.
