MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Freshmen guards Aaron Lucas and Gabe Gilliam dropped 18 points apiece and combined for eight assists on Thursday night and led five Muleriders in double-figure scoring as Southern Arkansas bounced Arkansas Tech, 90-80 inside the W.T. Watson Center and in the process picked up the program's first season sweep of the Wonder Boys since the 2006-07 season.
 
Hot shooting nights from both rookies, specifically from beyond-the-arc, paced the Southern Arkansas (13-11, 9-9 GAC) effort as the duo combined to finish 10-of-11 from range, while the Muleriders as a team converted 15 three-point attempts for the third time this season and registered their second-highest shooting mark from deep this campaign at 53.6% (15-of-28). Junior guard Draylan Perkins hit an additional four trifectas and finished with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Classmate CJ Elkins finished with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal.
 
The Muleriders led by as many as 13 points in the first half and held a seven-point lead at the break which was highlighted by SAU outscoring the Wonder Boys in second-chance points 13-2 in the first twenty minutes of action. Southern Arkansas out-rebounded ATU 46-35 on Thursday night and won the battle inside 32-24 as freshmen forwards DeVante Brooks and Charlie Thomas collectively corralled 20 rebounds in an all-night glass-cleaning effort and combined for 22 points led by Brooks' 15.
 
In the first sixty seconds of the second half, the Wonder Boys managed to cut their deficit to three points at 47-44, but over the next eight and a half minutes the Muleriders engineered a 23-9 run that saw them build a 70-53 advantage with 10:31 remaining in the game. That run saw 16 of its 23 points come from the Mulerider youngsters, including a trio of three-pointers from the sharp-shooting Gilliam, while Perkins added six-straight points in a 37-second span that helped Southern Arkansas produced its biggest lead of the night at 17 points.
 
Arkansas Tech would slowly cut into the Mulerider advantage and pull as close as five points to the lead down the stretch, but it was a successful three-point attempt by Lucas that proved to be the dagger with 1:41 left, while Elkins followed late with a successful triple try and a pair of free throws to help SAU put the game on ice.
 
The win puts SAU's conference slate at 9-9 with four games remaining in the regular season. The Muleriders are currently in a tie for sixth place with Arkansas Tech, but hold the tiebreaker having won the season series against the Wonder Boys. SAU is one-game back of Arkansas-Monticello for a potential two-way tie for fifth place and just one game up on Ouachita who currently holds the eighth and final spot at 8-10. Southern Arkansas still has UAM and Ouachita on the schedule as well as Henderson State, who sits a game back of the Tigers for eighth-place.
 
The Muleriders return to the court on Saturday, February 17, in Searcy for a primetime clash against Harding, who enters with a 4-14 league record and currently sits on the outside looking in at the postseason. The Muleriders beat Harding at home 88-55 on January 11. Tip-off from inside the usually-raucous Rhodes-Reaves Field House is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live links for all of the action are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.