ALVA, Okla. – Junior guard Jerry Carraway Jr. crashed inside on a missed jumper in Southern Arkansas' final offensive possession and his put back bounced around and in with under a second remaining to give the Muleriders a hard-earned 79-78 Great American Conference road win over Northwestern Oklahoma State, a contest which saw nine lead changes, on Thursday night inside Percefull Fieldhouse.

Carraway's heroics helped give Southern Arkansas its fifth-straight win as its overall record grows to 8-3 with a 4-1 mark in league play. The opportunity for the go-ahead shot was made possible by a stern defensive effort by the Muleriders on a Ranger possession that could have potentially put the host up by four. NWOSU grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed jumper, but a deep three-point look as the shot clock was expiring would not fall which set the stage for Carraway's winning bucket.

Southern Arkansas led by as much as nine points in the second half as a 59-50 advantage with just over 11 and a half minutes remaining stood as the largest advantage of the game for the Muleriders who fell behind 14-3 to start the game, never led and trailed by as much as a dozen in the opening twenty minutes.

An inside basket by junior Gregory Hammond Jr. the first twelve seconds into the second half gave the Muleriders its first lead of the night at 41-40. NWOSU regained the lead 50-49 at the 13:47 mark, but back-to-back triple tries from the triggers of senior Kris Wyche and sophomore Carel Ray Jr. put SAU up 55-50. A bucket by senior Blake Rogers and free throws from Carraway led to the Muleriders' aforementioned largest lead of the night.

The Rangers responded over the next five minutes of gameplay and nearly managed to put the Muleriders away as a 19-6 run sent the host up by four with a 69-65 lead with just over six minutes remaining. A tough effort inside by LaTreavin Black resulted in a basket that brought the Muleriders to within a possession of the lead which would momentarily move back in favor of SAU as Carraway knocked down a three to put the visitors on top 70-69 with 5:35 to play.

Northwestern Oklahoma led by six points with 1:55 to play, but in the final 75 seconds the Muleriders came alive as Rogers hammered an attempt from range at the top of the key to cut the deficit to a single basket and on SAU's ensuing possession an offensive rebound by Ray Jr. sent the sophomore to the charity stripe where he knocked down both attempts with 48 seconds left.

Hammond Jr. led SAU with 21 points and Ray Jr. followed with 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The latter hit four trifectas as part of SAU's 11-for-26 effort from three-point range and added five steals and three assists. Wyche rounded out double-figure scorers with a dozen points.

SAU shot 41% from the floor and withstood a good shooting night by the Rangers than included a 50% clip from three-point range. The Muleriders outscored NWOSU 34-15 in points off of turnovers and edged the host in paint points 32-26 despite finishing -2 in rebounding.

Southern Arkansas heads south to Weatherford for a 3 p.m. tip-off with Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday, January 7. The Muleriders will look to avenge a loss to the Bulldogs in the semifinal round of the 2022 GAC Tournament and will aim for the program's third-straight 5-1 start in league play. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.