MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Southern Arkansas' postseason run came to an end on Saturday night inside the Rip Griffin Center as the (4) Muleriders fell 83-61 to #16 (5) Dallas Baptist in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The trip to Division II's biggest stage was the first for Southern Arkansas as an NCAA program and it marked the first national postseason tournament appearance for the SAU Men's Basketball program since the 1988-89 season.

The Muleriders' season ends at 15-6 overall and as Co-Champions of the GAC Eastern Division and as GAC Tournament Runner Up which are both firsts for Southern Arkansas as an NCAA program.

Three Muleriders scored in double figures on Saturday evening as senior guard Aaron Lucas delivered 19 points with four rebounds, three steals and three assists. Junior guard Blake Rogers followed with 18 points and four rebounds and an assist. The Brooks brothers combined for 15 rebounds with Jalen scoring a dozen points and Devante adding five points in a gutsy effort playing through an injured hand.

Dallas Baptist (17-4) led 34-29 at the intermission, but outscored SAU by 17 points in the final twenty minutes of play.

For the game, the Muleriders shot 38% from the floor and made 8 of their 32 attempts from beyond-the-arc, while DBU posted a 54% clip from the floor and shot over 50% from three-point range. The Muleriders outrebounded DBU 33-32, but the Patriots handled the scoring inside 38-18.

The Patriots built a quick 8-0 and Southern Arkansas managed to cut the deficit to three points over the first 16 mintues of play, but with 4:29 to play in the first half Rogers drove inside to cut the deficit to eight at 31-23. J. Brooks followed with a trifecta at the 3:52 mark to cut the DBU lead to 31-26.

With 2:07 to play, junior guard Victor Irhirhi knocked down a jumper to pull SAU to within four points at 32-28. Senior Charlie Thomas, in his last game as a Mulerider, hit a free throw with 42 seconds to bring the halftime deficit to five at 34-29.

In the second half, the DBU lead blossomed to 14 through the under-12 media timeout and that is as close as the Muleriders would get down the stretch.