MONTICELLO, Ark. – With two longtime south Arkansas rivals convening on the hardwood for the fifth time this season, the tension and sheer dislike of the opposition, much like the familiarity, was increasingly high. Sunday afternoon's Great American Conference Tournament Championship Game featured 13 lead changes and ten tied scores and came down to the game's final seconds as Southern Arkansas was edged late by Arkansas-Monticello 75-74 inside Steelman Fieldhouse in a contest that will not soon be forgotten by either program.
 
The Muleriders (15-5) and the Weevils (16-4), both Co-Champions of the GAC's Eastern Division, battled for forty minutes in the first postseason meeting between the programs since the 1993-94 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) Tournament; an 80-73 win for UAM.
 
Senior guard Aaron Lucas delivered a career-high 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He added six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a game-high 39 minutes of work. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native was named to the league's all-tournament team. Junior guard Blake Rogers followed Lucas in scoring with 18 points and three assists in 38 minutes. Rogers also was named to all-tournament team as was senior forward Devante Brooks who entered the affair averaging a double-double over his last two tournament games. D. Brooks toughened out 21 minutes on the court grabbing seven rebounds with four points and an assist. Junior combo Jalen Brooks went for eight points and ten rebounds.
 
A fast and physical first half of action with plenty of floor-pushing offense and substantial contact defense saw both teams engineer momentum-shifting runs. Southern Arkansas' came at the midway point of the frame as the Muleriders ended a near 4:45 scoring drought with back-to-back-to-back trifectas from the trigger of Lucas and junior guards Victor Irhirhi and Tyler Garrett that staked SAU to a 20-9 lead and forced a UAM timeout.
 
After two timeouts and the under-8 media, Lucas increased the Muleriders' lead to 22-11 with a pair of free throws. The ensuing trip down the court for the Weevils was a successful one as Dajuan Jones knocked down a step back jumper which ignited an 11-2 run that gave UAM a one-point lead at 25-24 with 3:30 remaining before the intermission.
 
Lucas answered with a second three-point make on the next trip down the court that ended a three-plus minute scoring lull and momentarily pushed SAU back out front 27-25. Back and forth action followed as UAM's Kendal Frey hit a three moments before J. Brooks scored inside on a pass from Lucas to again give SAU a slim 29-28 lead. Two Denzel McDuffy free throws pushed the Weevils to a 30-29 halftime lead as the final 1:33 of action was scoreless.
 
Within that first half for Southern Arkansas was an early dose of the Brooks brothers on both ends of the floor as they combined to account for the team's first seven points, while both employed a physical presence inside that kept the Weevils from converting a handful of early paint attempts.
 
After an early turnover by SAU led to a quick UAM basket to opening second half scoring, Rogers hit the first of several vital second-half shots from beyond-the-arc as his basket from range tied the contest at 32 twenty-two seconds into the final twenty minutes of play.
 
Junior guard Tyler Garrett sank a contested three-pointer at the 16:59 mark to tie the game at 40 and moments later sank two free throws to end a short 5-0 run by the Weevils. Rogers then scored inside to pull SAU to within 45-44 and after successful free throws on the Weevil end of the floor, Rogers nailed a triple try to even the contest at 47 with 14:32 to play.
 
With under 13 minutes to play, Lucas took over. He converted a floating right-handed shot inside to tie the game at 49. After a defensive rebound by sophomore guard Trent Ivy, Lucas again drove inside, handled contact and laid in a go-ahead basket at 51-49.
 
Rogers connected on a pair of free throws to again tie the game with the score even at 54 with just over ten minutes to play. A quick miss from the Weevils turned into Lucas once again driving inside to give SAU a 56-54 lead on an acrobatic make as he changed scoring hands midflight.
 
Following the shot to give SAU the lead, Lucas knocked down three of four free throws and added another basket on a drive inside that put the Muleriders up 61-56.
 
UAM answered by turning in a 13-4 run that gave the hosts a 69-65 lead with 4:03 to play. At the 2:59 mark, Garrett converted an old fashioned three-point play that cut the deficit to one at 69-68. Southern Arkansas then turned a missed layup from McDuffy into the lead as Garrett assisted Irhirhi who faked a jumper, took a smooth step down the baseline and pulled up for a  bucket to give SAU a 70-69 advantage.
 
The seesaw action saw Tournament MVP Dajuan Jones score a tough attempt with 1:55 to play to give the Weevils a 71-70 edge. Lucas again blasted inside and converted off glass to give the Muleriders a 72-71 advantage with 1:36 remaining. Irhirhi and Lucas each converted one of two free throws to push SAU out front 74-71 and that unfortunately would be the last lead for Southern Arkansas as UAM scored the final four points of the game on two late buckets by Jones as the Muleriders were unable to convert on a trip to the free throw line and a last second shot attempt as time expired.
 
Southern Arkansas shot 46% from the floor on Sunday as they became the 11^th GAC program to make the men's basketball tournament final. The Muleriders were effective from three-point range in critical junctures of the contest as they hit 7-of-18 from distance, while finishing at 70% (21-of-30) from the free throw line.
 
SAU outrebounded UAM 34-38, while the Weevils won the paint battle for points 34-28 and turned 15 Southern Arkansas turnovers into 30 total points. UAM committed just nine turnovers, but was greatly affected by an often blanketing SAU defense which limited the Weevils to just seven makes in 23 attempts from three-point range.
 
The Muleriders make their first NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division II program and the program's first national postseason tournament since earning a trip to the 1988-89 NAIA National Tournament. Southern Arkansas, the No. 4 seed in the South Central Region, will meet No. 5 seed Dallas Baptist on Saturday, March 13, in Lubbock, Texas. Tip-off from inside the Rip Griffin Center is TBA. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.