MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas carried a 15-point lead into the intermission during Saturday afternoon's Great American Conference clash with in-state foe Ouachita, but the Tigers rallied early on in the second half as a 24-7 run brought the visitors to within a bucket of the Mulerider lead at 48-46 with 7:21 remaining. SAU fended off the Tigers down the stretch as they made several key free throws to pick up the league victory inside the W.T. Watson Center and improve to 7-2 overall; the best nine-game start to a season for the program since 2010-11.  
 
True freshman Jalen Brooks finished with a game-high 17 points and his second-half shooting helped the Muleriders pull away from the Tigers after the latter's aforementioned run. Brooks scored inside on an assist from redshirt sophomore Charlie Thomas and on the next Mulerider possession Brooks knocked down a triple-try to push the SAU lead to seven at 53-46 with 6:35 to play.
 
Thomas added two free throws after a flagrant foul and the lead grew to nine. At the 5:12 mark, DeVante Brooks converted an old-fashioned three-point play and the lead made its way back to double figures at 58-48.
 
A three-pointer from the quick trigger of sophomore Gabe Gilliam put Southern Arkansas up 61-48 with 4:21 to play, but a 10-0 run by the Tigers that carried the clock down to the 1:28 mark brought Ouachita to within a shot of making it a tied game at 61-58. With 1:15 to play, the elder Brooks converted one of two free throw attempts, but the younger Brooks grabbed a pair of offensive boards on the same possession, while an off-ball foul was called on the Tigers with SAU in the double bonus giving sophomore Aaron Lucas two shots from the stripe.
 
Lucas converted both and the lead grew back to two possessions, but a quick basket by the Tigers cut the deficit to four at 64-60 with 34 seconds to play. Lucas would connect on three more free throws down the stretch and Jalen Brooks would chip in with another charity stripe make as Southern Arkansas survived the late run by Ouachita to move to 2-1 in GAC play and remain near the top of the conference standings.
 
Jalen Brooks added seven rebounds, three blocks, one assist and a steal, while DeVante Brooks chipped in with ten points and five boards, one block and a steal. Senior Draylan Perkins scored ten points and Lucas and Thomas each added eight points with the latter grabbing six rebounds and the former dishing out four assists.
 
The Muleriders hit the road for the final contest before the calendar turns to 2019: a GAC tilt against Arkansas Tech in Russellville on Wednesday, December 12, at 7:30 p.m. from inside Tucker Coliseum. A win would push SAU's record to 8-2 and stand as the best ten game start to a season since the 2001-02 team started 8-2.