MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Six players scored in double figures for Southern Arkansas and the Muleriders used a quick start and hot shooting from the floor to pick up a 94-71 win over Henderson State in the Great American Conference opener for both teams inside the W.T. Watson Center on Thursday night. SAU moves to 6-1 on the season after winning their sixth-straight game which stands as the best seven-game start to a season since the 2010-11 season when that year's squad went 7-1 to start the season.
SAU played in transition for a third of the night as the Muleriders scored 31 fast break points in the win. Additionally, the Muleriders and the Reddies battled inside with SAU edging their opponent in paint points 36-32, while grabbing 16 more rebounds (42-26).
The Muleriders shot 50% (32-of-64) from the floor overall and in both halves as well, while sinking a dozen of their 31 trifecta attempts; six in each half. The Reddies shot at 39.4% (26-of-66) from the field in two more attempts than the Muleriders.
SAU led 18-10 with 13:15 remaining in the first half, but an 8-0 HSU run in the game's next 95 seconds tied the game at 18. The Muleriders answered with a 12-0 run that milked the first half clock to 5:53 with a 30-12 SAU lead. The Mulerider lead would get as high as 14 in the first twenty minutes before the squad took a 12-point advantage into the half. It was all Southern Arkansas in the final half as the lead was cut to ten on the opening possession by HSU, but the Mulerider lead would grow to as much as 31 with under 3:30 to play.
Senior
Draylan Perkins led SAU with 16 points and added six rebounds and freshman
Jalen Brooks delivered 15 points with seven rebounds, two assists, a pair of blocks and a steal. Sophomore
DeVante Brooks followed with 13 points, a rebound shy of a double-double, and chipped in with an assist and a steal. Sophomore
Gabe Gilliam and
Aaron Lucas each scored 11 points with Lucas supplying an additional six assists, four rebounds and a steal. Senior
CJ Elkins dropped ten points.
Southern Arkansas returns to the hardwood on Saturday, December 1, in Searcy, Arkansas, for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off with Harding from inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
