SHAWNEE, Okla. – (6) Southern Arkansas' postseason run began on Friday afternoon inside Shawnee's FireLake Arena as the Muleriders, led by double double performances from the Brooks brothers, outlasted (3) Northwestern Oklahoma State 72-63 in a back-and-forth Great American Conference quarterfinal tilt that saw 13 tied scores and 11 lead changes. The victory sends SAU into the tournament semifinals for the second straight season where a matchup against (7) Southwestern Oklahoma State awaits on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. with a spot in the tournament title game on the line. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

Senior combo Jalen Brooks recorded a hefty double double of 24 points and a Great American Conference Tournament record 20 rebounds, brother Devante registered the 48th such performance of his career with 17 points and 12 rebounds. It happened on the glass for the Muleriders in the win as the squad completely dominated the Rangers 57-24 in rebounding with SAU grabbing more offensive boards than NWOSU had total rebounds which led to SAU outscoring the higher seed by 21 points in second chance opportunities.

Friday's affair was full of momentum-changing runs for both teams as each squad overcame its own share of minor scoring droughts to set up an intense and energetic rhythm that was full of contact.

The two teams battled to a 36-36 tie at the intermission following a first half of action that was made up of seven tied scores and six lead changes. Southern Arkansas withstood a Rangers shooting clip of 55% in the opening twenty minutes, while missing on all of its 11 attempts from three-point range in the first half.

Highlighting the first half action along with a determined effort by the Muleriders was a Ty Archibald block that led to a tough transition finish by J. Brooks and a shot clock-beating floater by senior guard Aaron Lucas. In the final seventy seconds before the break and with SAU trailing 33-30, J. Brooks jumped a pass and finished on the other end emphatically with two hands before knocking down four free throws in the final minute to even the score and cap a first half double double effort.

SAU's three-point shooting wasn't near perfect or arguably even good in the win, but it certainly was timely. Following the half, junior guard Blake Rogers nailed a pair of three-pointers in the first four minutes of action: the first of which came at the 17:23 mark and tied the game at 40 and the second of which was netted with just over 16 minutes to play and brought SAU to within a point of the Ranger advantage at 45-44.

That three by Rogers sparked an 8-0 run for SAU that put the Muleriders out front 49-45 as Jessie Davis Jr. followed with a tough make inside moments before Archibald connected on SAU's third three-point make of half.
Following the under-8 media timeout, J. Brooks hit on a jumper and after being fouled he grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds off the missed free throw with the second resulting in a tip-in make as part of a 78-second sequence that erased a 56-52 deficit and tied the game at 57 moments before D. Brooks scored inside giving SAU a 59-57 lead.

With 6:22 to play, the Rangers' All-GAC performer Bubba Furlong scored off the glass to even the game at 59 and that would be the closest NWOSU would get to taking the lead down the stretch as a Lucas three and eight made free throws put the Rangers away.

Southern Arkansas defended the perimeter well in the win as the Rangers attempted just 15 three-point shots with just three makes and none coming from the league's top trigger man in Brain Free (0-for-5).

J. Brooks was 8-for-12 shooting with eight makes from the stripe. Of his 20 boards, nine were off of the offensive glass. He added an assist and a steal. D. Brooks grabbed an even six offensive boards and six defensive boards and added a block to a 17-point game. Rogers delivered 13 points with the two timely made threes. Lucas scored nine points, gathered four rebounds, landed three helpers and collected two steals.

It will be the third meeting of the season between the SAU and SWOSU. The Muleriders claimed a 70-41 win in Magnolia on New Year's Day and the Bulldogs edged SAU 70-67 on January 27 in Weatherford.