LANCASTER, Texas – Southern Arkansas outscored Augustana, their Northern Sun opponent that is two years removed from a DII National Championship, 47-40 in the second half, but it was a slow start offensively by the Muleriders that plagued the squad on Friday afternoon in their season opener as the Vikings downed SAU 75-67 in game one of the GAC/NSIC Crossover Challenge at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Texas.
 
The Muleriders (0-1) finished just 4-of-25 shooting from the floor in the opening twenty minutes of the game as Augustana took a 35-20 lead into the intermission behind 13 second-chance points. AU outscored SAU in that category 21-3 for the game.
 
Additionally, the Vikings began to find some open hardwood inside in the second half as they outscored the Muleriders 18-4 in the paint during the final twenty minutes.
 
In the more productive second half of action for the Muleriders, Southern Arkansas shot 52.0% (13-of-25) from the floor and made eight of their 15 trifectas (53.3%), while shooting 72.2% (13-of-18) from the charity stripe.
 
Senior CJ Elkins, who finished with a game-high 19 points, knocked down his final shot with 31 seconds that brought Southern Arkansas to within four points of the Viking lead at 71-67, but four down-the-stretch free throws put the game on ice for Augustana.
 
Elkins added four rebounds and two assists to the his season-opening stat line, while freshman Jalen Brooks followed the former in scoring with 11 points and added four rebounds as well in his collegiate debut. Junior Frank Royles scored ten points as did sophomore Aaron Lucas. Royles joined sophomore DeVante Brooks with six rebounds, while Lucas led the team with three steals. D. Brooks swatted a team-high four shots.
 
Southern Arkansas returns to action tomorrow at 2 p.m. against the University of Mary. Live stats can be followed here: https://goumary.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary.