MAGNOLIA, Ark. – It was a historic night inside a raucous W.T. Watson Center on Valentine's Day 2019 as the Southern Arkansas Men's Basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit midway through the second half to defeat Great American Conference rival Arkansas-Monticello 55-48 and improve its home-court winning streak to 14 games. In the process, the Muleriders punched their ticket to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, for the upcoming league tournament in March. Additionally, the win sets a new Division II Era (1995-96) record for victories in a single-season at 18 and counting and also gives Head Coach Andy Sharpe his 100^th win at Southern Arkansas.  
 
 
The win for the Muleriders (18-5, 13-4 GAC) ties the program record for GAC wins in a single season with 13; a mark accomplished by the 2015-16 team which also stood as the last team to sweep the season series with the Weevils, before Thursday night's triumph. The team's 18^th win this season tops the '15-16 Muleriders' 17 victories, with five games to play before the conference tournament. Since the league began in 2011-12, Southern Arkansas has made the tournament each year.
 
Sharpe, in his seventh season, becomes the fourth head coach in program history to reach the century mark in wins. His first win at SAU came on November 13, 2012 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, with a 100-66 drubbing of Champion Baptist. Since then, Sharpe and the Muleriders have totaled 72 GAC wins and 68 victories inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
 
Southern Arkansas remains a game-back of Southern Nazarene for first-place in the league standings, but joins the Crimson Storm as the only two teams to clinch a spot in the league's postseason party; the earliest the Muleriders have ever finalized their postseason berth.
 
There was no love lost between the two bitter league rivals in a clash that showcased a pair of tough defenses in the early going as both teams struggled from the floor. SAU shot 9-of-30 from the field in the opening twenty minutes, while knocking down just a pair of three-point shots in 11 first-half attempts. The Weevils struggled as well as they posted a 28.6% (8-for-28) shooting clip, while making just two of ten first-half tries from the charity stripe.
 
SAU led 20-19 into the halftime intermission as a three-point shot by CJ Elkins found the bottom of the basket to give the Muleriders the lead before the half which ended a 12-2 run by Southern Arkansas to close the opening period.
 
Through the first eight and a half minutes of the second half, Arkansas-Monticello opened up on an 18-6 scoring run to take a commanding 37-26 lead with 11:34 to play. Aaron Lucas, with the first of several solid drives to the basket by the Muleriders over the course of the final ten minutes, scored inside to cut the deficit to under ten at 37-28 with 10:44 left.
 
Gabe Gilliam would add a free throw and then the next five points as a driving layup and a three-point shot pulled the Muleriders to within five points of the UAM lead at 39-35 at the eight-minute mark. Lucas followed with a shifty move to get to the basket and then scored inside once more as he cut the Weevil advantage to one point at 39-38 with 5:33 remaining in the game.
 
Trailing by one, the roof on top of the fifty-plus year old W.T. Watson Center nearly came off as Frank Royles followed a three-point miss from Lucas with an immediate one-handed put back that ignited the near 1,000 fans in attendance.
   
The Weevils would answer on the other end to take a 41-40 lead, but the momentum had already shifted courtesy of the Royles slam. A layup from DeVante Brooks with 3:28 to play gave Southern Arkansas a lead that they would not surrender moments before Gilliam and Lucas each hit on triple tries to put the Muleriders up 48-41 with under 1:45 left in the second half.
 
The final sequence saw Jalen Brooks convert an old fashioned three-point play, while Elkins followed by connecting on a pair of free throws seconds before J. Brooks stole an inbounds pass and laid it in to signal the game's end with 27 seconds to play.
 
The game featured six lead changes and only two tied scores; both of which came in the first half. Southern Arkansas, led by their bench scoring, posted 35 second half points as Lucas and Gilliam combined for 23 points off of the pine, while D. Brooks posted a dozen points with nine rebounds. J. Brooks corralled 11 boards, including a handful of key rebounds down the stretch following missed opportunities on the part of the Weevils.
 
SAU's 48 points given up to UAM is a single-game low for a Mulerider opponent this season and the Weevils also shot an opponent-low .130 (3-of-23) from beyond-the-arc.
 
The Muleriders hit the road to Arkadelphia for their final in-state matchup of the regular season as Ouachita awaits on Saturday, February 16 at 3 p.m. from inside Bill Vining Arena. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.