SHAWNEE, Okla. – Carel Ray Jr.'s 16 points, which included four makes from three-point land, led five other Muleriders in double-figure scoring and Southern Arkansas converted several key free throws late to hold off Oklahoma Baptist for an 88-83 Great American Conference win on Thursday night inside the Noble Complex. The win moves the Muleriders to 14-4 overall with a 10-2 mark in league play.

Southern Arkansas led by 15 points on three different occasions through the first nine and a half minutes of the second half. Following the under-8 media timeout, the Bison managed to pull within six points of the Mulerider lead seven different times which included cutting the lead to five or less twice in the final minute.

Gregory Hammond Jr. knocked down his only second-half shot in a double-double effort with a triple try just south of the eight-minute mark that pushed SAU back up nine at 73-64. Two and half minutes later and with OBU again cutting the lead down to six, Ray Jr. knocked down an attempt from distance to cushion the Muleriders' lead at 76-67 with 5:28 to play.

Jerry Carraway Jr. hit two free throws with under three minutes to play that again erased another OBU six-point deficit. Twice in the final 1:39 of play, Blake Rogers got loose on an in-bounds play and scored a key bucket with the second one coming in transition on a long pass down the floor the sent SAU up 85-77 with 1:22 to play. In the end, it was a free throw by Carraway that kept the lead at six with 20 seconds remaining and two makes from the charity stripe by Wyche in the final ten seconds that secured SAU's tenth GAC victory; the ninth-consecutive season with ten or more league wins.

In that second half, the Muleriders connected on a dozen of its 16 free throw attempts after attempting only two shots from the line in the first half both of which were makes. SAU cooled down slightly in the second half from three-point range, but the four threes that tickled the twine were all key. Ray Jr. and Wyche hit threes on back-to-back possessions early on to build a 15-point lead, while threes from Hammond Jr. and Ray Jr. indirectly followed trifectas by the Bison. All nine Bison makes from three-point range came in the second half, but OBU attempted just three free throws following the intermission after shooting 9-of-14 from the line in the first half.

The first half, which witnessed five lead changes and four tied scores, was knotted at 21 through the under-8 media timeout. A three point make and a paint bucket on a drive inside from Gregory Hammond Jr. helped push SAU up 26-23 at the 6:10 mark of the opening half. The Muleriders then relied on quick production from a pair of players in Ray Jr. and Jessie Davis Jr. In a span of 32 seconds, Ray Jr. nailed two triple tries, on assists from Carraway Jr. and Davis Jr. on consecutive trips down the floor to grow the Muleriders' advantage to 32-25 with 4:59 to play prior to the intermission.

The lead grew to eight as Brock Schreiner found Ray Jr. for his third basket in a little over a minute of action. Davis Jr. joined in on the quick-scoring act as he scored inside with a pair of buckets 36-seconds apart with the last one pushing Southern Arkansas' lead back to eight points at 38-30 with 2:45 left before the break. Carraway Jr. delivered a trifecta with just over two minutes remaining to give SAU its first double-figure lead of the night and in the final half minute of action in the opening twenty minutes, Hammond Jr. connected from deep to send SAU into the locker room up 44-31.

Hammond Jr. nearly put together a double-double in the first half with a ten-point, nine-rebound effort and also added an assist, a block and one steal.

Aiding SAU's 13-point halftime lead was a 53.3% shooting clip from beyond-the-arc in the first half. The Muleriders made eight of its 15 attempts from range and did not allow an Oklahoma Baptist three-point make in six attempts. Overall, Southern Arkansas made six more shots in seven more attempts than the Bison in the first half.

The Muleriders won the battle inside and on the glass finishing +10 in both paint points and total rebounding. The GAC's top shooting team in the Bison reached its per game average, but SAU shot it better connecting on 52.5% of its total shots. SAU's 31 makes are the most by the team in a game this month. The team's 16 assists mark the fourth game this season with 16 or more and are the most since late November.

Ray Jr. picked up six rebounds. LaTreavin Black scored 15 points to go along with six rebounds and two blocks. Hammond Jr. finished with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, Kris Wyche chipped in with 13 points and both Blake Rogers and Carraway Jr. scored ten points. Schreiner led SAU with five assists, Carraway Jr. added four and Rogers recorded three. SAU absorbed 31 points from one of the league's top playmakers in Paul King who finished 12-of-26 from the floor with seven assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals. Three other Bison finished in double figures, including Ethan Scott who triggered in four three point makes all in a span of 98 seconds midway through the second half to spark the late run.

Southern Arkansas heads to Bethany for a top two matchup with (RV) Southern Nazarene (15-3, 11-1 GAC) on Saturday, January 28. The Crimson Storm have won five straight and are an unbeaten 8-0 at home this season. The two teams have split their previous four meetings with each team winning once on the road. SNU topped UAM 73-37 on Thursday night. Tip-off from inside the Sawyer Center is scheduled for 3 p.m. Live coverage links for the highly anticipated affair are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.