MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Senior guard Aaron Lucas delivered 25 points which included three of SAU's nine three-point makes and 8 of the team's 14 free throws, while junior combo Jalen Brooks followed with 20 points and 9 rebounds and senior forward Devante Brooks added 18 points and nine rebounds as Southern Arkansas took care of business against East Central with an 87-71 Great American Conference win on Saturday afternoon from inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
The Muleriders (14-9, 10-7 GAC) have won three straight games and remain tied for fifth in the league standings with five games left on the regular season docket.
 
Southern Arkansas was highly efficient from the floor throughout the contest as the Muleriders finished 47.8% (32-for-67) from the floor with nearly a 43% success rate from beyond-the-arc. Additionally, the Muleriders connected on 14 of its 15 attempts from the charity stripe. SAU shot five more and made five more shots than the Tigers did on Saturday. Highlighting the shooting effort was a second half make rate of 52.9% (18-for-34) with half of the team's ten attempts from range falling in addition to shooting nine of ten from the line.
 
SAU's perimeter defense was again out in full force as the ECU made just four of its 19 attempts, including a 1-for-10 result in the first half which aided the Muleriders in building a 37-27 lead at the intermission.
 
A pair of free throws from ECU at just under four and a half minutes into the first half of play put the Tigers up 10-8. ECU's lead would grow to five at 13-8, but J. Brooks converted an old fashioned three-point play and junior guard Ty Archibald scored on a fast break jumper to even the game at 13. The Tigers responded to build its lead to six points at 19-13, but the Muleriders again answered as Devante Brooks hammered home a transition dunk which was followed by consecutive triple tries from the trigger of junior guard Blake Rogers that put SAU out front with a 21-19 lead that the host would not look back from.
 
The largest lead for the Muleriders in the win stood at 23 points with 4:35 to play in the game. SAU finished +9 in rebounding.
 
Southern Arkansas' compacted late season stretch continues on Monday inside the W.T. Watson Center as the Muleriders play host to Arkansas-Monticello on Community Night. It will be the second time in a week the two teams square off against each other as SAU won 71-59 on February 7 in Monticello. Tip-off with the Weevils is set for 6 p.m. For more information on the festivities surrounding the Valentine's Day affair, click here. Live coverage links for the battle between the two bitter league rivals are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.