RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – With the quarterfinal round of the Great American Conference Tournament set to begin on Wednesday, the league announced the superlative honors and all-conference teams on Tuesday morning following a regular season that had its fair share of ups and downs on and off the court, but in the end resulted in no team playing fewer than a dozen conference games.
 
Headlining the honorees for Southern Arkansas, which enters the league's tournament as a No. 2 seed following the program grabbing a share of its first conference regular season title in 31 years, was senior point guard Aaron Lucas who was named both the GAC's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Lucas becomes the first Mulerider to be named GAC Player of the Year and the second to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors after Alre'k Brown won the award following the 2014-15 regular season. Lucas also earned the first All-GAC honor of his career as he was named a unanimous first team selection. Joining Lucas on the league's first team as a unanimous selection was senior forward Devante Brooks, while junior combo Jalen Brooks was named to the GAC's Honorable Mention team.
 
The efforts of the all-league trio along with their teammates, particularly along the perimeter, helped the Muleriders post a .317 (112-353) three-point field goal percentage defense, which currently ranks third all-time in SAU's DII Era (1995-96). Additionally, the Muleriders are allowing just 65.9 ppg to its opponents; the second-best effort since '95-96 and currently the 16^th-best output nationally.
 
Defined as "a device for firing the explosive mixture in an internal combustion engine," the spark plug in essence powers that entire process. Without it there is no power; there is no performance. If Andy Sharpe's 2020-21 Mulerider Men's Basketball team is an engine, Lucas undoubtedly is the spark plug and a whole lot more.
 
A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Lucas has been nothing short of dominant on both ends of the floor this season which ultimately led to league coaches voting him as the first men's basketball player in GAC history to claim both the player of the year and defensive player of the year awards in the same season and just the second ever to be honored as such joining Arkansas Tech Women's Basketball standout Roselis Silva (2012-13).
 
Offensively in 17 regular season contests, Lucas has averaged 16.2 points per game (5^th GAC), the seventh-highest scoring average in the program's DII Era (1995-96) and holds a top five assists per game mark of 4.6 (4^th GAC). He has scored 15 or more points in a game 12 times and has registered four games with 20 or more points. He is the third player in Sharpe's nine years as head coach at SAU to reach the 1,000-point scoring mark and the seventh player since 1995-96. Lucas eclipsed the record in a road win at Henderson State on February 6.
 
If Lucas wasn't scoring, he was finding the open man as he was responsible for 13 games with four or more assists, including four games with six or more assists. He currently has 321 career assists; the second-most by a Mulerider in a Division II career.
 
Serving as a catalyst for his team-leading points per game average, which stands as the second-highest scoring average in a regular season by a Mulerider under Sharpe and the most since 2016-17, was the GAC's fifth-best free throw percentage (82.2%) and the ninth-highest three-point field goal percentage (41-95; 43.2%). He averaged 2.4 makes from beyond-the-arc (8^th GAC) and his 41 makes from range are tied for the sixth-most in the GAC.
 
At a clip of 1.2, Lucas's assist-to-turnover ratio ranked ninth in the GAC's regular season and was the sixth-best among players that started 15 or more games.
 
As good as he was offensively, Lucas' biggest contributions to Sharpe's squad this season arguably took place on the defensive end of the court. A relentless defender, Lucas' 40 steals and 2.4 steals per game average lead the GAC. His total steals currently ranks 12^th nationally, while his per game average is the 14^th-best in Division II. He recorded seven games with three or more steals and produced two games with five steals. With 138 career steals, Lucas is just three steals shy of tying the program's Division II record for steals.
 
To say senior forward Devante Brooks is a formidable presence inside would be an understatement. The unanimous first team honor for the Shreveport, Louisiana, native is the third All-GAC award for the forward in his career. He claimed first team accolades as a sophomore in 2018-19 to go along with second team honors a season ago.
 
The elder of a dominant brotherly duo for the Muleriders, Devante is currently averaging 13.6 points per game which is a top twenty mark in the GAC on the league's fifth-best shooting percentage at 53.0%. He has scored in double figures 12 times this season and has put together six double-double performances which pushes his GAC career-best total to 28.
 
Prior to Lucas reaching the 1,000-point scoring mark, Devante added the milestone to his impressive list of accolades in January 9's season opener against Ouachita. Brooks knocked down the opening bucket of the second half for the Muleriders at the 19:05 mark to became just the second Mulerider at that time in the GAC Era (2011-12) to reach the 1,000-point milestone joining GAC All-Decade Team selection CJ Elkins (1,499 points). He was the 25th player in school history to reach that scoring mark with Lucas becoming the 26th.
 
Brooks' 143 total rebounds rank 32^nd nationally and are tied for the third-most in the GAC this season. His 8.4 rebounds per game rank fifth, while his 55 boards on the offensive glass are the league's second-most. Devante's 3.2 offensive rebounds per game ranks third in the GAC, while his 7.2 defensive boards are the seventh-best average in the league. He also delivered 17 blocked shots in the regular season.
 
The program's Division II career leader in rebounding, rebounding average, defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds and offensive rebounding average, D. Brooks also holds GAC records in single game rebounding, career offensive rebounds, career 10-rebound games and career double-doubles.
 
As if one Brooks brother that impresses every time he touches the floor isn't enough, enter Jalen. The junior combo and the younger brother of Devante, Jalen finished the regular season with the team's third-highest scoring output at 11.6 points per game to go along with the GAC's second-best rebounding average at 8.9 rebounds per game; an average that ranks 38^th nationally.
 
Jalen has registered ten games in double-figure scoring and five double-doubles. His 151 rebounds this season are tied for the league lead and are currently a top 25 effort in Division II. The younger Brooks has recorded 105 defensive rebounds at 6.2 per game which ranks second in the GAC, while his 2.7 offensive rebounds rank fifth in the conference.  
 
Jalen is one of just three players in the GAC to rank in the top ten of both steals per game (1.5) and blocked shots per game (0.9). Additionally, he shot over 40% from the floor in 17 games played in the regular season and dished out 1.4 assists per game.
 
The Muleriders play host to East Central in the quarterfinal round of the GAC Tournament on Wednesday. Tip-off from inside the W.T. Watson Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live coverage links area available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.