By: By: Daniel Gallegos
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SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
13-13 (9-11 GAC) |
HENDERSON STATE
REDDIES
13-13 (8-12 GAC) |
OUACHITA
TIGERS
12-13 (10-10 GAC) |
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
Tipping Off - Biggest Week of the Season
A ticket to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and the 2018 Great American Conference Basketball Championship Tournament is still very much a reality for the Southern Arkansas men's basketball team. With two games left in the regular season, the Muleriders currently find themselves in the eighth and final spot for the upcoming championship, but could play their way into the No. 6-seed by the end of the week.
At 9-11 in league play entering the weekend, the Muleriders are one game back of Arkansas Tech and Ouachita, who are currently tied for sixth place and one game up on Henderson State, who is in ninth place.
The Muleriders own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Tech by virtue of their season sweep over the Wonder Boys. SAU also is positioned well in potential tie-breaker scenarios with previous wins over both Henderson and Ouachita, making the final two
games of the regular season paramount for the Muleriders.
SCOUTING HENDERSON STATE
The Henderson State men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 13-13 overall record and an 8-12 mark in the Great American Conference. The Reddies lost their most-recent game at home to cross-street rival Ouachita. The Reddies led by seven at the break, but Ouachita came back in the second half to beat Henderson, 87-81.
On the season, the Reddies are averaging 82.2 points per game, which ranks third in the GAC. Defensively, the Reddies are allowing 80.0 points per game, ranking their scoring defense ninth in the GAC. Their +2.2 scoring margin ranks seventh in the league.
As a team, the Reddies are shooting .464 (756-of-1,629) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .349 (186-of-533) from long range. From the free throw line, the Reddies are shooting .776 (439-of-566). Their overall field goal percentage ranks sixth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks 10th. At the charity stripe the Reddies' percentage ranks first.
Individually, three Reddies are averaging double figures with Kaylon Tappin leading the way at 18.3 points per game. Chris Parker is next in scoring at 14.3 ppg, and Josh Jones rounds out double figure scoring at 14.0 ppg. Brad Narin is the team's leading rebounder at 6.0 boards per game. Parker is the top assist man on the team at 3.7 assists per game.
COACH
The Reddies are coached by Jimmy Elgas, who is in his third season at Henderson State. In his two seasons at Henderson, Elgas is 24-32.
Prior to becoming head coach at Henderson, Elgas was the top assistant at the University of Evansville. While at Evansville, Eglas helped lead the Aces to five post-season appearances.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, the Muleriders used a three-point barrage to surge past Henderson State by a score of 90-76. In the game, SAU hit 15 three-pointers. Freshman guard
Gabe Gilliam had his breakout game going a perfect 6-of-6 from deep.
THE SERIES
This is the 45th meeting since 1997-98 between SAU and Henderson State with the two teams meeting at least twice a year in that time as conference opponents. This portion of the all-time series is controlled by HSU, 27-17, but SAU has won five of the last seven.
SCOUTING OUACHITA
The Ouachita men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 12-13 overall record and are 10-10 in the Great American Conference. The Tigers have won their last three games going back to a 91-67 win over Harding at home. Their last two wins have both come on the road at Arkansas-Monticello last Saturday and at Henderson State this last Tuesday.
As a team, the Tigers are shooting .471 (669-of-1,419) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .378 (213-of-563) from long range. From the free throw line, the Tigers are shooting .705 (337-of-478). Their overall field goal percentage ranks fifth in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks fourth. At the charity stripe the Tigers' percentage ranks ninth.
So far this season, the Tigers are averaging 75.5 points per game offensively, and are allowing 74.7 points per game defensively. Their points per game scoring ranks 11th in the GAC while their scoring defense per game ranks fifth in the league and their +0.8 scoring margin ranks eighth.
Currently two Tigers are averaging double-figures in scoring with Mahlon Martin leading the team with 12.3 points per game. Wesley Franklin is next and rounds out double-figure scoring at 11.3 ppg. Franklin is also the team's leading rebounder at 4.2 rebounds per game. Martin is the team's top assist man at 3.0 assists per game.
COACH
The Tigers are coached by Dennis Nutt, who is in his seventh year at Ouachita. In his previous six seasons, Nutt has compiled a 95-74 overall record. Prior to his time at Ouachita, Nutt was the head coach at Texas State for six years where he went 72-96 overall with the Bobcats.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, SAU's
Keeton Tennison buried a three-pointer with less than 70 seconds to play to give the Muleriders a four-point lead at the time. SAU would go on to win the game, 69-64.
THE SERIES
This is the 38th meeting since 1999-2000 between SAU and Ouachita and the Tigers hold a 21-16 advantage. SAU and Ouachita have met at least twice a year in that time with the two reconnecting as conference opponents in 2001-02.
MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team enters play this weekend with a 13-13 overall record and a 9-11 record in GAC play. The Muleriders are currently ranked eighth in the league's standings and are just one game behind Arkansas Tech and Ouachita, who are both tied for sixth place at 10-10 in league play.
On the season, the Muleriders are averaging 77.6 points per game, which ranks sixth in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders rank third in scoring defense in the GAC at 72.0 points per game, and their +5.5 scoring margin ranks fourth in the league.
As a team, the Muleriders are shooting .449 (702-of-1,563) overall from the floor which includes a shooting mark of .374 (222-of-594) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders are shooting .660 (391-of-592). Their overall field goal percentage ranks ninth while their 3-point field goal percentage ranks fifth. Their free throw percentage ranks 11th in the GAC.
Individually, the Muleriders have three players who are averaging double figures in scoring with
CJ Elkins leading the team at 13.6 points per game and
Keeton Tennison following at 11.0 points per game.
Draylan Perkins rounds out double figure scoring with an 10.8 ppg average.
The leading rebounder on the team is
DeVante Brooks with 7.3 rpg which also ranks him first in the league in that category, while the top assist man on the team is Elkins with an average of 3.3 assists per game.
COACH
The Muleriders are coached by
Andy Sharpe, who is in his sixth season at Southern Arkansas. In his five previous seasons at SAU, Sharpe is 67-74.
Since the 2014-15 season, Sharpe has turned the Muleriders into serious contenders in the Great American Conference as SAU has won 35 conference games and have finished in the top half of the standings each year as well. The first two seasons in this recent stretch saw the Muleriders post consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
As far as post-season play is concerned, Sharpe has led the Muleriders to the GAC Tournament all five years at the helm and has advanced the team to the semi-finals twice with opening round wins in 2014 and 2016. Under Sharpe, SAU is one of only three schools that have made the GAC Tournament in five-consecutive seasons; joining Arkansas Tech and Harding.
