Men's Basketball | 1/22/2020 5:15:00 PM

MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Southern Arkansas enters the weekend with momentum after having won two straight following a four-game losing skid. Several challenges lie ahead as a pair of the league's top three-point shooting teams come to the W.T. Watson Center to square off against the defensive-minded Muleriders. SAU tips-off with Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and welcomes in Southern Nazarene on Saturday in a 3 p.m. start. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

THURSDAY NIGHT STORYLINES vs. OBU
*The Muleriders snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Arkansas-Monticello last Thursday night in Magnolia. The win was the 16th-straight for Southern Arkansas at home against in-state Great American Conference opponents.
*SAU holds a 5-2 home record inside the W.T. Watson Center this season with the two losses coming at an average of just 4.5 points.
*Since 2015-16, when Oklahoma Baptist (11-5, 6-4 GAC) joined the conference, SAU is 4-0 against the Bison at home with a 6-2 overall mark. Southern Arkansas won the first four meetings in the series and the two teams have split the last two season series with the home team winning all four games.
*Devante Brooks is SAU's leading scorer at 14.3 ppg and classmate Aaron Lucas follows with 13.7 ppg. Jalen Brooks adds 11.4 ppg to round out double-figure scoirng for the Muleriders. 
*The Bison enter with the GAC's fourth-highest scoring offense at 83.4 ppg, while the Muleriders boast the league's top scoring defense at 67.8 ppg.
*Two of the top three rebounding teams in the league will square off as the Bison rank second in the rebounding margin (+6.4) with the Muleriders following in third (+5.2). OBU's 37.9 rebounding offense ranks fifth, while its rebounding defense of 31.5 leads the GAC. SAU ranks third in rebounding offense (39.3) and fifth in rebounding defense (341.).
*Jaquan Simms leads the Bison in scoring average at 13.8 ppg, while Rashad Lewis and Harrison Stoddart each deliver just over 11 ppg.
*Stoddart owns the top shooting percentage on the team at 55.5%; the sixth-best clip in the GAC. His free throw percentage of 86.4% ranks fourth.
*Three players rank in the top 15 of the league in assists with Lewis leading the team at 3.8 apg. The Bison average the second-most apg in the GAC at 15.9.
*Three players hold top 15 three-point percentages in the conference with Simms' 45.9% clip leading the team and ranking fourth in the GAC. Three players rank in the top 12 in blocked shots average with Stoddart's 1.3 ranking second in the league.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON STORYLINES vs. SNU
*The Muleriders have not fared well against the Crimson Storm since the latter joined the Great American Conference for the 2012-13 season. SAU is just 2-12 all-time against SNU with both wins coming in a season sweep during the 2016-17 campaign. Southern Nazarene (13-5, 7-3) has won six-consecutive games against the Muleriders.
*SNU is currently tied for second in the GAC with Henderson State as both teams sit at 7-3 in league play.
*Since the start of the new year and by the end of Saturday's affair, the Muleriders will have played five of the league's top seven scoring offenses; all of which are currently averaging over 81 ppg. The Crimson Storm are averaging 81.6 ppg and have scored the most points in the league this season.
*The league's top two scoring defenses will convene inside the W.T. Watson Center on Saturday as both squads are allowing 67.8 ppg with the Muleriders having played two fewer games.
*Perimeter defense has been a frequent calling card for the Muleriders this season as they are allowing opponents to a league-low 29.5% success rate. Southern Nazarene enters the weekend shooting 40.5% from deep as a team this season averaging 11.6 three-pointers made
per game; both of which lead the GAC and rank in the top 20 nationally.
*Nationally, the Crimson Storm hold additional top 20 marks in three-pointers attempted (514), three-pointers attempted (208), scoring margin (+13.7), and fewest turnovers per game (11.1).
*The Crimson Storm is averaging the fewest rebounds per game in the GAC at 33.4, while the Muleriders rank third at 39.3 with a league-best 14.3 rebounds per game on the offensive glass. That average ranks tenth nationally and is led by a pair of Muleriders ranking in the top 40 of
the category individually. Junior forward Devante Brooks ranks tenth nationally with a league-best 3.9 offensive rebounds per game, while sophomore combo Jalen Brooks ranks 37th at 3.06 offensive rebounds per game.
*SNU's Jonathan Dunn enters the weekend owning Division II's second-highest per game scoring output at 28.6 ppg. He leads the country in total points (514) and ranks in the top five nationally in field goals made (183), and field goals attempted (325). He ranks seventh nationally in three-pointers per game (3.89) and teammate Micah Speight joins him in the top five of total three-pointers made as Dunn has knocked in 70, while Speight follows with 69.
*Speight ranks 15th in Division II in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.23) and 20th in total assists (100). He enters the weekend averaging 19.1 ppg.

MULERIDERS BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Southern Arkansas holds two top 10 statistical rankings in Division II through 16 games this season. The Muleriders rank ninth in the country in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.4) and tenth in offensive rebounds per game (14.38). Both of those marks lead the GAC. Additionally, SAU leads the conference in scoring defense allowing just 67.8 ppg which ranks 37th nationally.
109 - With their prowess evident on the offensive glass, the Brooks Brothers have combined for 109 offensive rebounds this season. That current total is more than the offensive team total of six Division II programs and two Division I programs this season. The duo is 15 such boards shy of adding ten more teams to that list. Last season, the brothers combined for 143 rebounds. Their current pace puts them at a combined 190.6 offensive boards with 12 regular season games remaining.
2002 - The Muleriders' most recent trip to the court was a historic one as Southern Arkansas picked up its first win over Harding in Searcy since a 92-78 decision over HU on February 7, 2002. The victory was the third-straight for SAU over the Bisons and that streak is the longest since the Muleriders won three-consecutive games from February 8, 2001 to the aforementioned victory in 2002. It was a span of 38 games between the win in 2002 and the victory last Saturday. It is just the second road victory for SAU in Searcy since 2000 and it's the first road win for the Muleriders this season.