JACKSON, Tenn. – Southern Arkansas did not attempt a free throw in the first half of Saturday afternoon's in-region tilt with Union University of the Gulf South Conference, but in the final twenty minutes, the Muleriders used the charity stripe to sink 16 attempts, including seven in the game's final two minutes by senior guard CJ Elkins as SAU picked up their fifth-consecutive win by dismissing Union 83-74 inside Fred Delay Gymnasium.

Southern Arkansas (5-1) scored 46 first-half points and added 37 more in the second half to take down the Bulldogs (4-2) as the team shot 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the final four minutes of the game to pick up their fifth-consecutive win; the best six-game start to a season since the 2010-11 campaign that saw that year's team open 5-1 and finish 7-3 before the calendar turned to the new year.

Elkins delivered a season-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. The Minden, Louisiana, native added six rebounds, one assist and one steal in 29 minutes on the floor. Wesley Nosakhare added 11 points and four rebounds and sank all three of his shots from the free throw line. Jalen Brooks chipped in with ten points and five boards and DeVante Brooks added nine points and nine boards in a near double-double effort.

Both teams shot well in the game's first twenty minutes as the Muleriders' four-point lead at the half came courtesy of a 55.6% (20-of-36) shooting clip from the floor, while the Bulldogs converted 13 of their 26 attempts from the field, including an 8-of-16 clip from beyond-the-arc with its final attempt pulling Union to within four with under ten seconds to play before the intermission.

The difference in the first half came in points off of turnovers and the battle inside as Southern Arkansas turned eight Union turnovers into 11 points, while turning the ball over only twice which resulted in just three points for the Bulldogs. SAU outscored Union inside 22-6 to help neutralize the Bulldogs' long-range success.

As previously mentioned, the Muleriders did not attempt a first half free throw, while Union converted all eight of its attempts to help keep the deficit at one possession heading into halftime.
Union's largest first-half lead was four at 26-22 with 9:31 to play in the period, but the Muleriders responded immediately as the unit engineered a 14-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to take its largest lead of the first frame at 36-28 with 6:24 remaining in the half.

The lead-changing run by the Muleriders started with Nosakhare scoring inside and Snyder Cenecharles answering a Union three-point miss with a trifecta of his own to push Southern Arkansas out front 27-26. After assisting Cenecharles with his make, Gabe Gilliam put the Muleriders up by four at 30-26 with a three-pointer on an assist from Cenecharles at the 7:39 mark of the first half.

Forty-five seconds later, Gilliam knocked down his second triple try of the period on a pass from Jalen Brooks and after the lone bucket by Union in the aforementioned Mulerider run, Aaron Lucas connected from three-point range to cap what was a momentum-shifting run by Southern Arkansas.

Six players scored at least six points in the first half with Lucas leading the way with seven. The 46 first-half points are the second-most in a first-half this season and the third-most in any half this season.
In a back-and-forth second half, Union would lead by no more than two points on six occasions in the first 13 minutes of the final period, while Southern Arkansas' largest lead was six. With the game tied at 64 with 5:30 to play, Union's Samory Gueye scored inside to give the Bulldogs their final lead of the game at 66-64 as the Muleriders manufactured a 19-7 run to close out the contest.

The ensuing trip down the floor for the Muleriders saw Elkins knock down his only trifecta of the game at the 4:52 mark of the second half to give SAU a 67-66 lead. Nosakhare followed on the next possession by converting a hoop-and-harm effort in an old fashioned three-point play as the lead grew to four, 70-66 with 4:02 left.

After a Union bucket, Elkins scored inside to push the lead back to four and the Bulldogs answered to cut the deficit to a single possession with 3:12 remaining in the game. The elder Brooks brother started the free throw barrage by connecting on both of his attempts at the 2:46 mark of the second half and Elkins followed with the first two makes of his seven at the 1:45 mark to put SAU up 76-70.

The Bulldogs would have two chances on the other end before Nosakhare grabbed a defensive board and headed to the line where he sank both attempts to make it 78-70 with 59 seconds to play. Elkins put the game away as he made five of his next six free throws down the stretch.

For the Muleriders, the attention now turns to an early season showdown on Thursday, November 29, as Great American Conference play opens up around the league which sends Henderson State to Magnolia for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off from inside the W.T. Watson Center.