MAGNOLIA, Ark. – In the programs' first meeting since matching up in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament last March, Monday night's league tilt between Southern Arkansas and league-leading Oklahoma Baptist lived up to the expected billing as the contest featured 11 lead changes and five ties with the Muleriders holding off the Bison and pulling away late for a pivotal 71-63 win inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
The Muleriders (10-6, 6-4 GAC) move into a fourth-place tie with Southern Nazarene in the conference standings and sit just above this coming weekend's opposition as the stretch portion of the regular season looms.
 
Southern Arkansas trailed 33-30 at the intermission and by as much as six points in the opening twenty minutes, but unlike in last Saturday's loss, the Muleriders controlled the second half by outscoring its foe by 11 points in the frame which was aided by five makes from three-point range and a perimeter defense that forced the Bison into a 14% shooting clip (2-for-14) from outside.
 
All five starters played at least 26 minutes with four of the five active on the floor for 30 or more minutes in the victory. Junior combo Jalen Brooks' double-double effort of 20 points and 14 rebounds to go along with two steals paved the way for SAU, while senior guard Aaron Lucas followed with 19 points, four rebounds and two steals and senior forward Devante Brooks supplied his 11^th double-double of the season with 11 points and a dozen rebounds in a relentless 38 minutes on the floor.
 
Lucas drilled an attempt from range to open second-half scoring and knot the affair at 33. Junior guard Tyler Garrett, who scored ten points and led the team with four assists on Monday night, responded following a bucket by the Bison with a trifecta of his own to give the Muleriders a 36-35 advantage. Just over a minute later Rogers joined the scoring act from deep with a three-point make to increase the SAU lead to four at 39-34 with 16:28 to play.
 
The Southern Arkansas lead grew to as much as seven points through the under-12 media timeout, but a 9-1 OBU run, which included five consecutive free throws, pushed the Bison out front 52-51 at the 9:19 mark of the second half.
 
SAU shot 46% from the floor for the game, but during a seven-minute window (9:19 through 2:17) in the thick of the final twenty minutes, the Muleriders made seven of their ten attempts which was capped off by an emphatic two-handed dunk from Jalen Brooks on an assist from Lucas to push SAU out front 67-61. From that point, Southern Arkansas put the game on ice with four successful free throws in five attempts over the game's final 97 seconds.
 
The Brooks Brothers collectively grabbed 26 of the team's 40 rebounds as SAU finished +8 in the statistic
 
The Muleriders head back to Oklahoma for league action this weekend. Southern Arkansas meets Southwestern Oklahoma State (6-5, 5-5 GAC) in Weatherford at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, before closing out the trip two days later with a 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon tipoff in Alva against Northwestern Oklahoma State (11-6, 6-5 GAC). Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.