MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Mulerider Basketball teams will take on the University of Arkansas at Monticello on rivalry Monday inside the Panther Arena at Magnolia High School. The women will tipoff at 6 p.m. and the men will follow at 8. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
The Southern Arkansas Women and the UAM Cotton Blossoms have both recorded back-to-back losses to ECU and SOSU to share a 6-11 conference record. The Muleriders beat UAM 76-63 in Monticello just three weeks ago. In the January matchup, senior Diamond Morris and UAM's Bailey Harris both recorded 20+ points to lead respective team scoring. Freshman Brooklin Brown (14) and junior Addy Tremie (10) also posted double digit scoring figures while senior Bradyn Hill recorded a career-high eight assists.
UAM posts the second-worst conference scoring offense with an average 61.9 points per game, but holds opponents to a conference leading 28.5% from three. The Cotton Blossoms additionally trail the GAC with their -1.83 turnover margin and 0.58 assist/turnover ratio while the Muleriders boast a 1.00 ratio that ranks first.
The Mulerider Men stand as one of two GAC teams to have clinched berth to the GAC Championships while the Boll Weevils post the second-worst record (5-12) in the league. SAU won over UAM with a four-point advantage in January in Monticello. The 65-61 Mulerider win included double digit scoring efforts from senior LaTreavin Black, senior Blake Rogers and junior Gregory Hammond Jr. The teams' scoring efforts were closely matched with the Muleriders shooting at a 46.4% clip and UAM shooting 46.8% from the field. Isaac Jackson led all scoring with 22 points followed by teammate Mario Fantina. Jackson leads UAM scoring with an average 13.9 per game.
The UAM men share the same issue as their women when it comes to scoring, as they trail the GAC with an average 63.9 points per game and post a -3.1 scoring margin. The Boll Weevils find themselves in the conference's top-five for three-point filed goal percentage. Josh Denton leads at 46% while the other two are shooting better than 44%.
The teams will tipoff inside Panther Arena located at 1400 High School Dr. in Magnolia. The previously-scheduled Student Appreciation Night will be rescheduled for another night, but students are still encouraged to come out and support the Muleriders as both teams are in the midst of an intense conference standings race.
