ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Junior Kris Wyche slipped backdoor for a game-tying dunk on an assist from junior combo Jalen Brooks 33 seconds into the second half and senior forward Devante Brooks, who recorded another record-setting afternoon on Saturday inside the Duke Wells Center, spun inside and lofted a sensational jump hook with 56 seconds remaining to put Southern Arkansas up 69-65 over Henderson State. Those two plays were pivotal as Wyche's early bucket following the intermission tied a game that the Muleriders once trailed by 13 points in during the first half, while the elder Brooks' Goose Tatum impersonation in the final minute created just enough cushion down the stretch as SAU won 73-68 for its third win over the Reddies this season.
 
The Muleriders (8-2, 7-2 GAC) grabbed 38 rebounds including a stern 22-12 effort on the glass in the second half and shot 50% (11-22) from three-point range for the game which is a team-high effort through ten games this season and the best such effort since knocking down 54.2% (13-24) of their attempts in a home win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on February 2, 2019.
 
The three-point shooting was in fact timely as junior guard Blake Rogers bottomed an attempt at the 18:12 mark of the second half to give the Muleriders a 40-39 lead; their first since nearly that same mark in the first half of action. Rogers knocked another triple try down four minutes later to keep SAU out front by four and with 6:26 remaining and the game tied at 58, D. Brooks connected on a beyond-the-arc attempt with the shot clock dwindling to put SAU up 61-58. That attempt and make was the first for Brooks from range since February 21, 2019: a span of 42 games.
 
In the final five minutes of action, Henderson State would tie the contest twice but key free throw shooting by the Muleriders (6-8 as a team) helped put down the Reddies. Brooks shot 9-12 from the line and at one point had made nine straight. Senior Aaron Lucas, who hit a personal scoring milestone in Saturday's win, went 5-6 from the stripe. SAU shot 72.7% (16-22) from the line in the win. It is the second 70% or better effort from the free throw line in the team's past three trips to the court.
 
Southern Arkansas led for the first 90 seconds of the contest, but the Reddies answered and began building their largest lead of the afternoon which stood as an aforementioned 13-point advantage at 27-14 with 7:26 remaining in the opening half. A dunk by D. Brooks with seven minutes before the intermission sparked a 9-0 run that Brooks bookended with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to four points at 27-23. HSU answered with a three-pointer to end a three minute scoring drought and the Reddies would manage to build their lead to nine at 35-26 with just under two minutes to play in the first half.
 
The Muleriders, who shot 57.1% from beyond-the-arc in the opening twenty minutes, knocked down their final three attempts in the half as triple tries from Jalen Brooks (1:48 mark), Lucas (1:05 mark) and Rogers (:14 mark) tied the game before an inside bucket by the Reddies gave HSU a slim 37-35 lead heading into the break.

As good as the Muleriders were shooting the three ball on Saturday, they were equally as good defending it as SAU forced Henderson State into a 21.4% success rate in 14 attempts from three-point range.
 
Lucas joined classmate Devante as Muleriders that have reached the 1,000 career points milestone this season. Devante eclipsed the prominent scoring mark on January 9 to become the 25^th Mulerider to score a 1,000 points in a career. At the 5:29 mark of the first half, Lucas picked the pocket of HSU's Damian Dear and scored on a fast break layup to become the 26^th player in program history to reach the historic milestone and just the third during the program's GAC Era (CJ Elkins, 1,499 points).
 
With his 24 point, 13 rebound double-double, Devante set the GAC record for double-doubles in a career with 25 in addition to becoming the first player in league history to register 30 games with 10+ rebounds.
 
Lucas added a season-high seven assists, three steals and three rebounds to his stat ledger and Rogers finished with 11 points.
 
The Muleriders return to action on Monday night inside the W.T. Watson Center as Arkansas-Monticello comes to Magnolia for the second time this season. The Muleriders claimed the first meeting of the season with a 71-67 decision on January 11 in Magnolia. The Weevils won 78-64 on January 25 in Monticello. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.