SHAWNEE, Okla. - On October 12, first-year head coach Logan Quinn's Muleriders, a squad that included nine new faces and a new coaching staff, was tabbed preseason No. 9 in the Great American Conference Coaches Poll. One hundred and forty-four days later and with the smoke settled in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the Muleriders were the last team standing in a tournament no one picked them to make. Chip on three.

Behind a second-consecutive thrilling performance from Tournament MVP Brock Schreiner and accompanying high-quality efforts from a host of Muleriders including a trio of GAC All-Tournament Team selections, the Muleriders won the first conference tournament title in the program's NCAA history by handling Arkansas Tech 89-69 on Sunday afternoon inside FireLake Arena. It stands as win No. 22 for Quinn, an NCAA Era single season record for the Muleriders, in year one and it sends Southern Arkansas back to the NCAA postseason for the second time in three seasons.

Quinn's bunch saved their best for last and it was more than enough in the title game. It happened on both ends of the floor for Southern Arkansas in the historic win. The Muleriders shot 56.7% (34-60) from the field with ten successful triple tries in 22 attempts (45.5%), finished +7 in rebounding, +11 in points off turnovers and stalked the perimeter defensively holding Tech to just two makes in a dozen three-point shots.
 
Paint baskets by Kris Wyche, Schreiner and Gregory Hammond Jr. accounted for SAU's first six points of the game and kept the Muleriders in step with ATU early on. Blake Rogers hit the first of seven first-half trifectas by the Muleriders on an assist by Schreiner to knot the game at 9-9 with 3:04 off the clock.

Wyche forced a loose ball on the next ATU possession and then corralled an offensive board on a Schreiner miss which led to a second-chance bucket by the latter to give SAU its first lead of the game at 11-9. The Muleriders would not trail again. Southern Arkansas built its advantage to 13 down through the under-12 media timeout as Hammond Jr. delivered a helper to Carel Ray Jr. for a bucket off glass and the Hammond followed with an inside make and successful three-point attempt off a pass by Rogers to give SAU a 13-point lead at 24-11 with 11:07 remaining before the intermission.

Makes from deep by Wyche (4-minute mark) and Rogers (31-second mark) aided SAU in keeping the lead at 13+ as ATU managed to get only as close as seven points to the Muleriders' lead during the remainder of the first half.

SAU's active first half saw the Muleriders attempt 14 more shots and with eight more makes than the Wonder Boys, while also successfully bottoming seven three-point makes to Tech's none. Southern Arkansas committed just two turnovers in the opening twenty minutes as it continued a dominant showing of taking care of the basketball over the course of six halves in Shawnee. Ball movement was key as well as the Muleriders dished out ten assists in helping build the dozen-point halftime lead.

Out of the halftime break, the Muleriders used the first five and a half minutes of the half to run its lead up to 23 points on the back of a 15-4 run that saw Ray Jr., Black and Hammond all get in on the scoring act. Southern Arkansas kept its foot on the gas as the Wonder Boys would get as close as 18 points of the lead on two different occasions prior to the under-12 media timeout.
 
Hammond Jr. led with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting with a trio of made threes to go along with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Schrenier followed with 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal in a team-high 35 minutes. Rogers added 15 points and matched Hammond in trifectas. Black scored 13 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Ray Jr. followed with ten points, three boards and one steal as the Muleriders put five players in double figures for the second-straight game.

Not to be lost in the veteran presence was the huge ten-minute effort of true freshman Devonta Walker who grabbed five rebounds and a steal in the win. SAU's scoring output is a program-best in its GAC Tournament history. It's the fifth time the Muleriders eclipsed the 80-point mark in a GAC Tournament game and it's the first time since the 2015-16 tournament that they hit 80-plus points in consecutive games. The 89 points in the win are the most by the Muleriders in a postseason game since beating West Georgia 89-75 in the 1998-99 GSC Tournament. 

The Muleriders' postseason run continues in Maryville, Missouri as Southern Arkansas enters NCAA postseason play as the Central Region's No. 8 and will matchup against region host and top seed #2 Northwest Missouri State, the three-time defending national champions, on March 11. Tip-off for the regional's third contest of the day from inside Bearcat Arena is set for 6 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

SAU in the GAC Tournament (12th appearance; 8-11)
2022-23 | W, 89-69 vs. (5) Arkansas Tech
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