LANCASTER, Texas – Senior Draylan Perkins went for 19 points and added six rebounds and a pair of steals to lead the Muleriders on Saturday afternoon as Southern Arkansas picked up their first win of the season with a 64-59 victory over the University of Mary at the GAC/NSIC Crossover Challenge in Lancaster, Texas, at Cedar Valley College.
 
The Muleriders (1-1) led by eight points at the intermission and saw their second half lead cut down to four points with a minute and a half to play, before Perkins knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds to put Southern Arkansas in the win column.
 
Following Perkins in scoring was classmate CJ Elkins with 14 points in a team-high 36 minutes and sophomore DeVante Brooks added 13 points and finished two boards shy of a double-double. Brooks also added three blocks and his younger brother, freshman Jalen Brooks scored six points, recorded five rebounds, and added a pair of blocks.
 
UMary held a lead for the first ten and a half minutes of the game, before Elkins scored inside to tie the game at 13. Thirty seconds later, Elkins again scored in the paint to give the Muleriders a 15-13 lead and Southern Arkansas would not trail for the remainder of the game, while building a 13-point advantage, their largest of the game, five minutes into the second half.
 
SAU scored 18 points off of 14 Marauder turnovers and a key to the team's successes on Saturday was a much quicker start than in the season opener as the Muleriders shot 48.15% (13-of-27) from the floor in the first twenty minutes of action.
 
Southern Arkansas returns to Magnolia and prepares for the 2018-19 home opener on Tuesday, November 13. The Muleriders welcome in first-year program Southeastern Baptist College for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.