SHAWNEE, Okla. - It was a postseason clash created for March and for forty intense minutes inside FireLake Arena, the action more than lived up to the stakes. Graduate guard Brock Schriener took over late for (2) Southern Arkansas scoring 14 of his 17 second-half points in the final eight minutes as first-year head coach Logan Quinn's Muleriders erased a ten-point deficit with less than ten minutes to play to beat (6) Henderson State 84-81 and earn the program's second Great American Conference Tournament title game berth of the past three seasons.

Schreiner nailed a triple try on a second-chance look for the first points for either team coming out of an intermission that held an eight-point Henderson State lead at 47-38. The bucket served as just the second made shot of the night for Schreiner and was followed by paint jumpers from the triggers of LaTreavin Black, who delivered his second double-double of the tournament, and Gregory Hammond Jr. to pull HSU's advantage down to a single point at 47-46 through the opening 75 seconds of the second half. 

The Reddies led by nine at the 15:55 mark, by eight points with 11:17 to play and by its largest lead of the game, ten points at 66-56, with 9:22 remaining in the second half. Henderson State outshot SAU with four more makes in five more attempts, shot nearly half as many threes but made just three less and out rebounded the Muleriders by two boards. However, Southern Arkansas picked up stops when it needed to as both teams scored 37 times with the Muleriders forcing five more empty Reddie possessions on the defensive end of the floor. HSU made just four shots in the final 5:02 of action, while the Muleriders closed the final 2:25 on an 11-4 run. In the final two minutes of play, the Muleriders went 7-of-10 from the charity stripe which greatly aided its comeback effort and helped put the game on ice. 

Schreiner laid a shot off glass to pull SAU to within six points of the HSU lead as the clock dipped under eight minutes. Following the media timeout, a block by Carel Ray Jr. was rebounded by Devonta Walker and resulted in a fastbreak, two-handed slam by Hammond Jr. off of a helper by Schreiner. The energizing slam kept the deficit at six and brought the SAU bench to its feet in the process. 

Lay-ins by Rogers and Schreiner on consecutive SAU possessions kept the Muleriders within four points of the HSU lead each time. As the clock continued to dwindle, Schreiner stepped into a good look from the left wing around the 5:30 mark and hammered a three to pull SAU to within a point at 70-69, but HSU responded with a Malik Riddle trifecta to push the advantage back to four. 

Free throws from Ray Jr. again brought the Muleriders to within a possession of the lead. Tough buckets abounded in a crowded paint as Hammond Jr. (3:18) and Schreiner (2:16) managed to get hard drives to the basket to fall as HSU's lead stood at 77-75 with the clock moving under two minutes. 

Following one of two at the line by Schreiner, his lone steal of the night led to one of his five assists as he tossed a transition look out front to Black who quickly got a shot up off glass to give the Muleriders a 78-77 lead with 1:16 left; its first advantage since the 4:37 mark of the first half. 

Southern Arkansas, with the momentum leaning blue and gold, put the game away at the stripe which was paired well by an emphatic denial by Hammond on an HSU shot attempt that could have given the Reddies the lead but instead led to a pair of free throw makes by Schreiner which pushed SAU out front 80-77. 

The victory is the seventh all-time for the Muleriders in GAC postseason play and it gives Southern Arkansas its most wins in a single season since the 22-win campaign in 1989-90. Saturday evening's matchup, the third between the two programs this season, featured a back-and-forth first half highlighted by a dozen lead changes and six tied scores. 

Five Muleriders scored in double-figures led by Schriener's team-high and season-high 19 points. Schreiner added five rebounds, five assists and a steal. Rogers, who's big second-half three two nights ago helped SAU hold off Oklahoma Baptist, delivered 18 points and sank three of the Muleriders' 11 trifectas in the win. Hammond went for 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Black's double double included ten points and a dozen rebounds and he added six assists, one block and an assist. Ray Jr. followed with ten points, seven boards, one block and a steal. 

SAU made just three of its 14 three-point attempts in the second half, but went 12-of-16 from inside the perimeter and from the free throw line in the final twenty minutes. The Muleriders were -12 in paint scoring in the first half, but went +6 on 24 such points in the second half after scoring just eight inside points in the first twenty minutes. SAU committed just seven turnovers. That marks just a dozen turnovers for the Muleriders in 80 minutes of postseason basketball. It marks the ninth time this season that SAU recorded less than ten turnovers and the first time they did it in back-to-back games. 

Sunday's title game will be SAU's third meeting with the Wonder Boys this season. Southern Arkansas topped ATU 62-53 on December 17 in Magnolia and the Muleriders recently edged Tech 85-83 in double overtime in the regular season finale a week ago in Russellville. 

Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.  

SAU in the GAC Tournament (12th appearance; 7-11)

2022-23 | W, 84-81 vs. (6) Henderson State
2022-23 | W, 71-67 vs. (7) Oklahoma Baptist
2021-22 | L, 62-71 vs. (7) Southwestern Oklahoma
2021-22 | W, 72-63 vs. (3) Northwestern Oklahoma
2020-21 | L, 74-75 at (E1) Arkansas-Monticello
2020-21 | W, 74-71 at (W1) Oklahoma Baptist
2020-21 | W, 82-74 vs. (W3) East Central
2019-20 | L, 69-83 vs. (2) Southeastern Oklahoma
2018-19 | L, 62-74 vs. (5) Henderson State
2017-18 | L, 71-76 vs. (2) Northwestern Oklahoma
2016-17 | L, 68-72 vs. (3) Arkansas Tech
2015-16 | L, 83-97 vs. (1) Harding
2015-16 | W, 83-82 vs. (4) Southwestern Oklahoma
2014-15 | L, 77-89 vs. (6) Harding
2013-14 | L, 60-73 vs. (6) Henderson State
2013-14 | W, 63-59 vs. (2) Southwestern Oklahoma
2012-13 | L, 43-62 vs. (1) Harding
2011-12 | L, 53-54 vs. (1) Arkansas Tech