MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Two former longtime Gulf South Conference rivals convene once again on Tuesday night inside Walter Sillers Coliseum as Southern Arkansas, under the leadership of first-year head coach Logan Quinn, crosses over the big river and into Cleveland, Mississippi for a non-league, in-region tilt with the Statesmen of Delta State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
Southern Arkansas (2-2) is coming off back-to-back blowout wins over non-NCAA opponents which helped even its overall record. SAU dismantled Arlington Baptist 90-65, before putting away Ecclesia College 89-49. The Muleriders opened the campaign against a pair of tough opponents from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
 
Delta State enters the matchup at 0-3 overall with all three losses coming by at least ten points and all against Division II opposition. In the two teams' most recent matchup, a post-Thanksgiving meeting last season, the Muleriders won 82-60 in Magnolia.
 
Two of the region's top teams in three-pointers attempted will be in action as SAU ranks 40^th nationally with 27.0 per game, while DSU is shooting just over 30 per game which leads the GSC and ranks 14^th nationally.
 
In four games, the Muleriders are averaging 83.0 points per game after having eclipsed 74 total points in all four of its previous games. SAU sits at +10.7 in scoring margin which ranks fifth in the GAC. The team's 47.8% shooting clip ranks fifth in the GAC. On the glass, the Muleriders are grabbing an average of 15.3 offensive boards per game which ranks 19^th nationally and second in the GAC. SAU's rebounding average and scoring offense each rank in the top 50 in Division II.
 
Grad transfer LaTreavin Black has made an immediate impact for Southern Arkansas averaging 11.0 ppg to go along with a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game and a team-high six steals. Senior guard Blake Rogers is scoring at a team-best 14.3 ppg behind a team-best 40% success rate from three-point range. He has added eight assists which trails only junior guard Jerry Carraway Jr.'s team-leading 11. Junior guard Gregory Hammond Jr. rounds out the double-figure scoring averages for the Muleriders at 10.8 ppg.
 
Delta State is averaging 58.3 ppg with a -17.3 margin. The Statesmen are currently shooting 48% from the floor, while allowing opponents to shoot 51.5% from the field. Sam Smith is averaging a double-double for Delta State with 13.67 ppg and 12.3 rebounds per game. His 9.0 defensive rebounds per game rank seventh nationally and his current total rebounding average of 12.3 ranks fourth.