MAGNOLIA, Ark. – After being forced to reschedule a three-game stretch during mid-January due to COVID protocols, tenth-year head coach Andy Sharpe's Muleriders head into Oklahoma with some momentum following a pivotal 71-63 win over league-leading Oklahoma Baptist. Southern Arkansas will get its fair share of basketball in the coming weeks as Sharpe and Co. prepare for ten potential season-altering games over the next 24 days. First up is the team's second trip into Oklahoma and its longest conference haul of the campaign.
 
The Muleriders (10-6, 6-4) are currently in the middle of a heavily undecided and constantly shifting Great American Conference standings which has SAU tied for fourth with Southern Nazarene. This weekend's opponents, Southwestern Oklahoma (6-9, 5-5 GAC) and Northwestern Oklahoma (11-6, 6-5 GAC) are tight on SAU's heels and are looking to enact revenge after Southern Arkansas topped both teams in Magnolia over the New Year holiday.
 
SAU defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State 69-49 with a nice post-Christmas break effort on December 30. In that victory, senior forward Devante Brooks became only the second player in program history and the first in the NCAA Era to collect 1,000 career rebounds.
 
Two days later, the Muleriders dismissed SWOSU 70-41 to start the New Year with a win. In the win over the Bulldogs, SAU engineered one of its best defensive efforts in recent memory. The 41 points surrendered to the Bulldogs are the fewest allowed by SAU so far this season and are the fewest allowed by the Muleriders since Williams Baptist scored just 38 points against Southern Arkansas on November 26, 2016. It is the fewest points allowed by SAU in its GAC history (2011-12) and the fewest allowed to a Division II opponent since the spring of 2008 when the Muleriders held Henderson State to 36 points.
 
The Muleriders enter the weekend averaging 76.7 ppg and hold top 45 rankings nationally in several key defensive statistics including three-point field goal defense (33^rd | 30.3%) and scoring defense (42^nd | 66.4 ppg). SAU ranks 20^th in Division II in offensive rebounds per game (13.4), 29^th in total rebounds per game (40.0) and 29^th in rebound margin (+6). Additionally, SAU holds a turnover margin of +2.8 which stands as the 35^th-best such statistic in the country, while owning a scoring margin of +10.2 which ranks 42^nd nationally.
 
D. Brooks leads the team and ranks fourth in the GAC in scoring at 17.1 ppg with a 56.8% shooting clip. Three other players follow in double-figure scoring with senior guard Aaron Lucas adding 13.9 ppg and juniors Blake Rogers and Jalen Brooks both scoring 11+ ppg.
 
D. Brooks' 11.6 rebounds per game this season currently stand as the fifth-best average in Division II and his 185 rebounds this season are the sixth-most. The Shreveport native is also grabbing 3.62 offensive rebounds per game with rates as the 14^th-best such effort entering the weekend. His near eight defensive boards per game (7.94) rank ninth in the country. The GAC's career leader in double doubles, D. Brooks' 11 are the fourth-most in DII. J. Brooks averages 6.9 rebounds per game.
 
Lucas leads the team at the stripe with a78.3% mark and his near 3.0 assists per game are also a team-best average. J. Brooks' 2.0 steals per game ranks second in the GAC and Lucas follows with a top 10 mark in the statistic at 1.5. D. Brooks has recorded 16 blocks which ranks fourth in the GAC.
 
Six players have hit at least ten three-point shots led by Lucas' 32 makes. Rogers trails with 31 makes at a team-best 38.3% success rate among players with at least 15 successful attempts.
 
Four players, Lucas, Rogers and the Brooks brothers, have played and started all 16 games for the SAU this season. Junior guard Tyler Garrett adds 14 starts.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma (6-9, 5-5 GAC)
Thursday, January 27 | 7:30 p.m. (PCEC | Weatherford, Oklahoma)
 
The Bulldogs enter the weekend having won their past three times to the court which followed a four-game losing streak. Southern Arkansas has won two straight over SWOSU, seven out of the past eight and has won three consecutive games on the road in Weatherford.
 
SWOSU averages 70.3 ppg and the game could come down to how well the Muleriders defend the three and stay out of foul trouble. The Bulldogs rank in the top three of the Great American Conference in three-point field goal attempts (403), free throws made (223), free throws attempted (321), three-point field goals per game (8.8), total three-point field goals made (132). Additionally, Southwestern Oklahoma rebounds the basketball particularly well with an average of 37.0 which ranks third in the league.
 
Damion Thornton leads the team with 19.8 ppg. Kamden Gipson follows with 12.7 ppg and Chris Braggs Jr. added 11.4 ppg. Thornton is the team's top rebounder averaging 7.8 boards per night. Gipson ranks in the top 15 in the GAC in assists average (3.6), steals average (1.4) and in three-point makes per game (2.3), while owning the second-highest assist-to-turnover ratio in the GAC at 2.2.
 
Northwestern Oklahoma (11-6, 6-5 GAC)
Saturday, January 29 | 3 p.m. (Percefull Fieldhouse | Alva, Oklahoma)
 
The Rangers are just a nudge behind SAU in the standings having one more loss and the same amount of wins in league play as the Muleriders. NWOSU has won its previous two games and four of their past six. SAU last win on the road in Alva came in a dozen-point victory on January 3, 2019.
 
NWOSU ranks second in the GAC and 30^th nationally in field goal percentage as they knocked down 49% of their attempts per night. The Rangers own the ninth-best blocked shots average in the country at 5.1 behind the fourth-most blocks this season at 86. Northwestern Oklahoma enters the weekend averaging 78.4 ppg with 36.8 rebounds per game behind the league's second-best offensive rebound output of 11.18. Additionally, the Rangers lead the GAC in free throws made (225) and free throws attempted (340).
 
Bubba Furlong leads the shot-swatting effort with the tenth-best blocked shots average in the country at 2.47 and his current season total of 42 blocks ranks fifth nationally. Brian Free's 46.1% clip from three-point range ranks 18^th in Division II. Four players rank in the top 30 in scoring in the GAC with Larry White's 14.6 ppg leading the way offensively. Furlong and White are the top two shooters in terms of percentage and both rank in the top 15 in rebounding with Furlong's 7.9 per game currently fourth in the league.
 
Follow Live
Mulerider fans can follow this weekend's action through live coverage links available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.