DULUTH, Minn. – Senior guard Blake Rogers scored a game-high 21 points, three other Muleriders followed in double-figure scoring as Southern Arkansas got off to a hot start beyond the perimeter, but it was Bemidji State that edged the Muleriders late to earn an 82-79 win on Saturday afternoon at the American Family Insurance Classic hosted by Minnesota Duluth. The contest, which was the first ever between the two programs, featured 14 tied scores and a dozen lead changes.
 
Southern Arkansas' (0-2) shooting efforts from three-point range cooled in the second half as SAU made just two of its dozen attempts from deep following a first half that saw eight of its 14 attempts fall.
 
The Muleriders carried a 45-43 lead into the intermission, but led by as much as 11 in the first half of play. SAU newcomer Carel Ray Jr. knocked down a triple try at the 9:53 mark of the opening twenty minutes to knot the game at 20 and in the process sparked a 15-4 run in less than three minutes of game time. During that stretch, Southern Arkansas used eight points from Ray Jr. and five more from grad transfer Brock Schreiner.
 
BSU responded with a 16-5 run to tie the game at 40 with 4:24 remaining, while a three-point make by Rogers, who shot 4-of-8 from range on Saturday and scored seven of SAU's final nine points, in the final 80 seconds aided SAU's slim advantage at the break.
 
The largest lead for either team in the second half was just four points. It was back and forth through the first five minutes of the second half. BSU gained a 55-53 lead at the 16-minute mark, and minus a tough inside bucket from SAU's Jessie Davis Jr. that tied the game at 59, held it through the 11:05 mark of the second half when redshirt sophomore Connor Harvey nailed a three-point attempt to put SAU up 62-61.
 
It was even tighter down the stretch as the lead for either team never grew past one possession. BSU converted a go-ahead scoring play following a timeout with 16 seconds to play that led to an 80-79 lead which was iced with two free throws in the final three seconds. Not lost in the effort was Rogers' final points; a three-pointer assisted by Jerry Carraway Jr. at the 2:21 mark which gave the Muleriders its last lead of the afternoon at 79-78.
 
Rogers added three assists and two rebounds. Ray Jr. delivered 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from three and chipped in with five rebounds and an assist. Gregory Hammond Jr. scored a dozen points with two rebounds, an assist and a block. LaTreavin Black added ten points, led with seven rebounds and picked up four assists and two steals.
 
The Muleriders scored 44 points in the paint and received 28 points off the bench highlighted by Ray Jr.'s baker's dozen.
 
Southern Arkansas returns home for its home opener on Thursday, November 17. The Muleriders host Arlington Baptist at 7 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center. Tickets and live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.