SEARCY, Ark. – It's not easy to win on the road in the Great American Conference. On Friday night from inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House, (RV) Southern Arkansas found itself with a 14-point lead with 11:36 to go in the second half, but just over four and a half game minutes later the Muleriders were clinging to a slim three-point advantage. Enter Aaron Lucas. The senior guard from Tulsa, Oklahoma, answered a 13-2 Bisons run with a personal 10-0 run that took just 2:11 to orchestrate as Southern Arkansas led 69-56 at the 4:37 mark of the second half.
 
The Muleriders (9-3, 8-3 GAC) cruised in the final 4:30 of play to keep pace with GAC Eastern Division-leading Arkansas-Monticello. Lucas finished with 23 points on an efficient 7-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-4 from beyond-the-arc, including a quick six points from range to jumpstart that aforementioned game-clinching run, and 6-of-7 from the stripe. He added five rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists in just 27 on-floor minutes.
 
The largest lead of the first half for either team came with just 54 seconds remaining before intermission. With a 32-31 lead with under two minutes to play, SAU cashed in on a second-chance make by senior guard Trey Davis and followed that bucket with a successful triple try from the trigger of junior guard Blake Rogers from classmate guard Tyler Garrett via a steal by fellow transfer Victor Ihrihri.
 
Southern Arkansas dropped 42 points in the second half and for the game turned 17 Harding turnovers into 27 points, while the Bisons managed just 14 points on 14 SAU turnovers with just five such points coming in the final twenty minutes.
 
The two teams battled inside as Harding edged SAU in paint points 34-32, while the Muleriders won the action on the glass 40-31.
 
Senior forward Devante Brooks scored 16 points and added eight rebounds and a steal. He shot 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Rogers followed with 10 points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal. Four players didn't miss from the free throw line led by freshman guard Dodge Brown's perfect 6-of-6.
 
The Muleriders' 80% free throw shooting on Friday was the team's best mark since a program-best effort on January 23 of last season in a 77-60 win over Oklahoma Baptist. The 24-of-30 effort is the best road charity stripe percentage (minimum 20 attempts) for Southern Arkansas since January 24, 2019 at Oklahoma Baptist when the Muleriders shot 82.1% (23-of-28) in a loss to the Bison.
 
Harding's 62 points mark the ninth time in 12 games this season that the Muleriders have held their opponent under the 70-point mark. Harding, a team that entered averaging 10 makes from three-point range per game, were held to just four successful attempts in 40 minutes; the fifth time an SAU opponent has bottomed four or fewer trifectas in a game this season. The previous four times were all Mulerider victories.
 
Southern Arkansas faces a quick turnaround as the Muleriders play in Russellville on Saturday against Arkansas Tech. The Wonder Boys topped SAU 66-59 on January 14 in Russellville. It was the Muleriders' first loss of the season. Tip-off from inside Tucker Coliseum is slated for 6 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.