MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Behind a 15-2 run midway through the second, a handful of huge three-point buckets down the stretch, and a hefty double-double performance by Carel Ray Jr. who delivered 17 points and 15 rebounds, Southern Arkansas grinded through and moved past Ouachita for an 86-75 Great American Conference victory on Thursday night in the regular season home finale for the Muleriders inside the W.T. Watson Center.

Jerry Carraway Jr. nailed a triple try from the right wing with six minutes to play to give the Muleridersa 66-64 lead and two minutes later he lobbed an in-bound pass to just beyond the top of the key for the lengthy Gregory Hammond Jr. who took one step in and hammered a three-point attempt to give Southern Arkansas (18-9, 14-7 GAC) a 72-68 advantage.

As the clock crept under two minutes to play, Blake Rogers, in his final home game as a Mulerider, dribbled to his left with the shot clock winding down a hit dagger of a triple try to give SAU a 77-68 lead with 1:55 remaining. The Tigers would pull to within six in the final stretch, but the Muleriders would use the free throw line and a late trifecta from senior Connor Harvey to put the game on ice.

Following the aforementioned three-point make by Carraway Jr., Southern Arkansas went 11-of-13 from the stripe. For the second half, SAU shot 18-of-28 from the charity line after shooting just three free throws in the first twenty minutes of play.

SAU shot 80% from three-point range in the second half which saw three tied scores and five lead changes. With 16:08 to play in the game, Ouachita held a 51-41 lead. The Muleriders responded with a 15-2 run to take a 56-53 lead. The run included successful makes from deep by Wyche and Hammond Jr. Wyche nailed his three-point attempt as part of that +13 run at the 12:49 mark and it was the first of seven makes from downtown for the Muleriders for the duration of the contest as SAU scored 50 points in the second half. The Muleriders defended well behind a lively Watson Center faithful forcing Ouachita into a 2-for-13 shooting clip from three-point range in the second half and four fewer makes overall than in the first half with the same attempts. 

The Muleriders overcame 11 first half turnovers to trail by just four at the intermission as Ouachita went into the break at +6 in turnover scoring. SAU finished the opening 20 minutes at +8 in rebounding and used nine offensive rebounds to stand at +8 in second chance points which helped keep the deficit in striking distance.

A late 7-0 scoring run by the Muleriders in the first half helped SAU take a brief 36-35 lead; its only advantage of the opening half. Southern Arkansas struggled shooting the trifecta in the first half as the host missed on 13 of its 16 shots from beyond-the-arc.

Ray Jr. added a block, a steal and an assist to his stat line. Hammond Jr. scored 16 points with three rebounds and a steal. Wyche added 14 points with two boards and an assist and Carraway Jr. rounded out double-figure scoring with 13 points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Southern Arkansas closes out the regular season on the road in Russellville. The Muleriders meet the Wonder Boys at 3pm on Saturday, February 25. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.