MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Four Muleriders scored in double figures led by sophomore combo Jalen Brooks' 23 points, but Southern Arkansas fell at home on Thursday night to Henderson State as the Reddies employed a sharp-shooting three point attack in a 95-80 Great American Conference win from inside the W.T. Watson Center. The loss drops SAU to 10-11 on the season and to 7-8 in league play. Currently, the Muleriders are in a three-way tie for sixth place, with Arkansas-Monticello and this upcoming Saturday afternoon's opponent Arkansas Tech, in the GAC standings.
 
The contest saw seven lead changes and four tied scores; most of which happened in the first half. Southern Arkansas used an 11-6 run in closing before the intermission which helped pull the team to within a bucket of the Henderson State lead at 43-41. In the final three minutes of the first half, redshirt freshman guard Trent Ivy knocked down back-to-back triple tries following an inside basket by true freshman forward Jessie Davis Jr. Seconds before the half, junior guard Aaron Lucas connected on a three-point shot which cut the aforementioned Reddie lead to just two points.
 
Lucas scored the first bucket of the second half for either team as he drove inside before laying a shot off the glass to tie the game at 43 thirty-five seconds into the frame.
 
The Reddies heated up from three-point range through the under-12 media timeout as they engaged a 26-11 run highlighted by a trio of makes from deep to take a 69-54 lead with 11:50 remaining. SAU would manage to cut the lead to eight points at 74-66 with 8:59 left after a steal by Brooks led to a fast break bucket by Lucas which followed a quick steal by junior guard Trey Davis which resulted in a Devante Brooks bucket on an assist by Lucas.
 
HSU shot 56.5% (13-of-23) from beyond the three-point line for the night and missed only three of their 11 three-point attempts in the second half. The Muleriders outscored Henderson State inside 40-30 and outrebounded their opponent 43-30. HSU turned 15 Mulerider turnovers into 28 points with 21 of those coming in the second half.
 
Brooks added six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Lucas followed with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Ivy and junior guard Gabe Gilliam each delivered ten points. Both were perfect from the stripe with Gilliam making all five of his attempts within a span of just 17 seconds in the second half.
 
Southern Arkansas hits the road for Russellville on Saturday as the Muleriders look for the series sweep of the Wonder Boys after claiming the season's first meeting 83-63 on December 14 in Magnolia. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.