MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas Men's Basketball faces its first league tests of the season this weekend as Great American Conference play opens up Thursday and Saturday across the conference footprint. The Muleriders, winners of their last three games, travel to Arkadelphia on Thursday, December 1 for a 7:30 p.m. start in the GAC opener, before returning home for a 3 p.m. tipoff against Harding on Saturday, December 3. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
Through five games, the Muleriders (3-2) have been highly active in several facets of the game that fans have grown accustomed to seeing the program dominate over the past several seasons despite several new faces. Of the seven players averaging over 20 minutes per game, five are in their first season as a Mulerider.
 
Southern Arkansas begins conference play with the top rebounding margin in the league at 12.6 which ranks ninth nationally in Division II. The squad's 13.8 offensive rebounds per game is the 25^th highest mark in the nation and along with its per game rebounding average of 39.6 each mark ranks third in the GAC. Seven players have grabbed at least ten boards this season. Four have recorded two dozen rebounds or more with newcomers LaTreavin Black and Carel Ray Jr. each registering 36 at 7.2 per game in the month of November. Black's 16 offensive rebounds pace the team, while Ray Jr.'s 29 on the defensive glass are a team-high.
 
Additionally, the Muleriders' effort along the perimeter on the defensive end of the floor has aided the recent three-game win streak. SAU's three-point percentage defense (27.6%) ranks inside the top 30 nationally and is second in the GAC behind Saturday's opponent Harding. An SAU opponent has managed just ten makes from deep once this season, while the Muleriders' last two trips to the court have witnessed the defense clamp down to a collective 7-of-53 opponent shooting effort from beyond-the-arc.
 
The Muleriders enter the weekend with the league's second-highest scoring margin at more than a dozen points behind a scoring offense that fills it up to the tune of 80.8 ppg. Blake Rogers leads the team in scoring average at 13.0 ppg and in overall scoring with 65 points. Black and Ray Jr. are both averaging slightly less than 11 ppg. Jessie Davis Jr. leads the team in shooting percentage at 63.3% while Black and Ray Jr. are shooting better than 52% from the floor as is Brock Schreiner who is also one of three players with a dozen or more assists this season. Jerry Carraway Jr.'s 16 assists are tops on the team and his 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fifth in the GAC.
 
Southern Arkansas dropped both its meetings with Henderson State last season. The Reddies knocked off SAU in Magnolia on a tough-look buzzer beater on December 4 and won by nine points in Arkadelphia on February 5. Henderson State, GAC preseason No. 2, is currently 2-3 on the season with a season-opening victory over Washburn and a 25-point win against Williams Baptist. Two of HSU's three losses have come by a single possession and its first loss of the season was to now nationally-ranked Minnesota State.
 
HSU returned eight players from last season's team that won 17 games and added several impactful newcomers to the '22-23 squad. The Reddies, through five games, have proven that a disciplined bunch will take the floor every night. HSU's 10.8 turnovers per game are the second-fewest in the GAC and its turnover margin of 2.0 ranks fourth. Head Coach Jimmy Elgas' team has committed the third-fewest fouls per game and on the other end has attempted the fourth-most free throws. HSU owns a small scoring margin of less than one behind a scoring offense that is averaging 70.0 ppg. As a team, the Reddies are shooting 42% from the floor with an opponent FG% of 43.4%.  Henderson State ranks fifth in the GAC in total rebounding (37.8), offensive rebounding (11.2) and defensive rebounding (26.6).
 
Franck Kamgain leads the Reddies in scoring with 13.6 ppg which stands as the 14^th-highest scoring mark in the GAC. Three players are currently inside the league's top 25 in rebounding average as Malik Riddle's 5.4 boards per game land inside the top 20, while KJ Stewart and Tomislav Miholjcic are each averaging 4.8 rpg. Kamgain and Riddle have combined for 20 made threes with the former's 2.4 makes per game ranking inside the league's top 10. Alvin Miles facilitates behind a league-leading five assists per game and the ninth-highest assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9. Ryan Boyce's seven blocked shots are the fourth-most in the GAC. Miles and Zyon Patterson each average 1.2 steals per game.
 
The Muleriders play host to Harding on Saturday. Southern Arkansas has won eight straight against the Bisons and ten of the past 12. HU, GAC preseason No. 8, received nine more points than the Muleriders in the league's preseason rankings. Harding is 5-1 on the season which included wins in their first four trips to the court. HU knocked off Puerto Rico's Rio Piedras and Bayamon by a combined 31 points and defeated a pair of non-NCAA foes in Crowley's Ridge and Champion Christian, before suffering its first loss at Arkansas-Fort Smith. Most recently, the Bisons beat Oklahoma Christian. Harding host Ouachita on Thursday night.
 
Through six games, Harding leads the league in team assists (16.2) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.20). The Bisons are also the top team in the GAC when it comes to defending the three-point shot with an opponent success rate of just 27.4% from deep. Harding defends well inside ranking second in blocks per game (4.0), while ranking second in rebound margin (8.3), rebounds per game (41.6), defensive rebounds (27.6) and offensive rebounds (14.0). HU is averaging 78.8 ppg with the league's third-highest scoring margin at 11.0.
 
Taylor Currie's 24.3 ppg ranks second in the GAC and 11^th nationally. No player in Division II hoops this season has made more field goals than Currie's 62. He ranks inside the national top 30 in FG% (64.6%) and FGA (96) as well as offensive rebounds per game (3.5) and total blocks (11). His 9.2 rebounds per game lead the GAC.
 
Ramiro Santiago's 2.3 three-pointers made per game ranks 10^th in the GAC and his 14 total are the second-most by a player this season. Keyln McBride follows with ten makes. Three players rank inside the league's top 16 in assists average with J.T. Smith's 3.5 per game ranking fourth. Santiago and McBride each average over two per game.