MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The final Oklahoma road swing of the season greets a Southern Arkansas Men's Basketball squad that crosses state lines with momentum. The Muleriders (15-9, 11-7 GAC) have won four straight contests, the longest streak in the league, and travel into the northern portion of the Sooner State for a pair of weekend clashes that will weigh heavily on Great American Conference Tournament seeding. SAU meets Southern Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. inside Bethany's Sawyer Center, while Saturday's matchup with Oklahoma Baptist is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip inside Shawnee's Noble Complex. Live coverage links for both league affairs are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
SAU enters the second-to-last weekend of the regular season tied with Henderson State for fifth in the GAC standings. Both SNU and OBU have clinched spots in the league's postseason party set for early March from Shawnee's FireLake Arena.
 
In the team's last four games, Southern Arkansas is scoring over 76.5 points and holds a +14.8 scoring margin, while shooting 46.3% from the floor as a team. The Muleriders have knocked down ten triple tries in three of the past four games and are averaging 9.8 makes from beyond-the-arc behind a shooting clip of 37.9% from range. Additionally, SAU has been very efficient at the stripe punching in over 83% (41-of-49) of its attempts from the free throw line.
 
Southern Arkansas, during this current stretch, is +10.3 in rebounding margin per game, +2.3 in turnover margin and is playing arguably its best perimeter defense of the season as opponents are averaging just 5.3 makes per game from deep over the past four contests.
 
For the season, senior forward Devante Brooks is averaging a double double of 17 points and 11.3 rebounds per game and is shooting just under 54% from the floor. Three other players are scoring in double figures for the Muleriders. Senior guard Aaron Lucas and junior guard Blake Rogers have combined for 97 makes from beyond-the-arc this season. Both players are scoring over ten points per game with Lucas' 13.7 ppg trailing only D. Brooks. Junior combo Jalen Brooks is averaging 12.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
 
Additionally, the Muleriders have received quality minutes from its bench down the stretch as the SAU reserves have outscored the opposition's bench 66-36 over the past four games.
 
Southern Nazarene (17-7, 12-6 GAC) is tied for second with Northwestern Oklahoma State in the league standings. Since the beginning of January, the Crimson Storm have won 12 of its 14 games including a 63-57 decision against the Muleriders on January 22. SNU is averaging 69.5 points per game, while allowing just under 65 points which ranks as a top 30 scoring defense in Division II.
 
Xavier Bryant's 4.8 assists per game rank second in the GAC, while his 1.87 steals per contest are third. He ranks in the top three of the GAC in both total assists and total steals. Tyler McGhie and Adokiye Iyaye have both nailed 40+ trifectas this campaign.  
 
Oklahoma Baptist (17-7, 14-4 GAC) currently leads the GAC with a winning percentage of .778. The Bison are averaging 73.8 ppg, while allowing 70.5 points to the opposition. The Muleriders topped OBU 71-63 in late January, but since that defeat the Bison have won six of seven and enter the weekend looking to lock up the top seed in the tournament.
 
OBU's Burke Putnam leads the GAC in scoring average (20.5 ppg), total points (491), total field goal attempts (370), total field goals made (182), and free throws made (102). His marks in total FGA, total FGM, and total points all rank in the top 20 nationally.