SEARCY, Ark. - Sunday afternoon hoops in Central Arkansas did not go the way of the Muleriders. Southern Arkansas was downed 57-51 by Harding in its first Great American Conference road test of the season from inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House in a contest that featured nine tied scores and eight lead changes. The loss drops SAU to 3-4 overall and evens its league record at 1-1. Harding improves to 5-3 and has won both of its conference contests. The Bisons' victory snapped a ten-game losing streak to the Muleriders.
 
Harding entered the tilt as the league's top three-point shooting team at 42%, but the Muleriders limited the Bisons from beyond-the-arc holding the host to a 26.7% success rate (8-for-30). However, SAU made just two of its dozen attempts from range and finished -5 in turnovers and -17 in points off of turnovers.
 
SAU's largest lead of the game stood at just two points twice in the first half with its final lead of the game coming at the 6:15 mark of the opening twenty following a Jay Barnes trifecta, the lone first-half make from three for the Muleriders, to put SAU up 18-17.
 
Southern Arkansas trailed by nine points, its largest deficit of the game, with just under five minutes remaining in the second half. The Muleriders managed to cut its deficit to 53-50, behind five points from Carel Ray Jr. and three points from Anthony Igiede, with 28 seconds to go before the Bisons used a pair of free throws to put the game away. Of Ray's five during that stretch was the lone successful make from three for the Muleriders in the second half.
 
SAU outshot the Bisons by less than one percent, while Harding attempted 11 more shots from the floor.
 
Ray led SAU with 19 points and a dozen rebounds (six offensive) as he registered his fourth career double double. Igiede followed with nine points. Christian Caldwell added eight points. Mohamed Traore grabbed six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
 
The Muleriders will work through the week to prepare for a Saturday afternoon Great American Conference tip-off against Ouachita on December 9. Start time from inside the W.T. Watson Center is scheduled for 3 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.