MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas Men's Hoops makes its' return inside the W.T. Watson Center this Saturday against the reigning Great American Conference Champions, the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys, following a road contest to Arkadelphia, Arkansas against Ouachita Baptist on Thursday. Saturday's contest against Arkansas Tech will mark the Muleriders' final home game of the semester as the group returns in 2025 on January 4.
 
Ouachita Baptist (5-3 | 0-2 GAC)
>>> After beginning the season 5-1 against non-Great American Conference competition and 3-0 against non-D2, Ouachita Baptist has dropped its first two conference contests and has most recently played in an exhibition game at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. The Trojans defeated the Tigers 80-57.
>>> The beginning of the 2024-25 GAC schedule for the Tigers opened up very similar to the Muleriders as the group was handled in the league opener at East Central (67-77) and was beaten by one possession in Southeastern Oklahoma (80-82).
>>> Southern Arkansas has swept OUA in the season series the last two seasons, riding a four-game winning streak against Ouachita.
>>> Three-time GAC Player of the Week, Hobert Grayson, has been one of the league's premier players thus far as he is averaging 24.1 points per game (2nd GAC | 9th nation). Grayson is also the conference leader for rebounds (99 | 9th nation), defensive rebounds per game (8.88 | 3rd nation), offensive rebounds per game (3.5 | 21st nation), and rebounds per game (12.4 | 4th nation). He is averaging a double-double and is also the league's leader in that category with six double-doubles, ranking fourth in the nation.
 
Arkansas Tech (3-3 | 1-1 GAC)
>>> The reigning Great American Conference co-regular season and tournament champions have been off to a slow start against steep competition as the Wonder Boys are 3-5 overall and have started conference play 0-2.
>>> Arkansas Tech began the campaign 3-3 against non-conference opponents and 1-0 against non-division II competition.
>>> Last season, the Wonder Boys swept the Muleriders in the regular season and avenged their loss in the 2022-23 GAC Tournament Championship with a chip of their own. Before last season's two losses to ATU, Southern Arkansas was winners of seven straight against the Wonder Boys.
>>> Cassius Brooks has been Arkansas Tech's leading scorer this season as the senior from Chicago, Illinois is averaging 21.8 points per game and is ranked fourth in the league in scoring per game. Brooks has also been a danger for opponents when at the free throw line this season as he has hardly missed any, making 87% of his shots from the charity stripe on 77 attempts.
 
Last Week at SNU-OBU
>>> After beginning the conference schedule in Oklahoma, the Muleriders start the league season 0-2 with tough losses at Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist.
>>> Southern Arkansas struggled offensively as a whole in Bethany, Oklahoma against the Crimson Storm that saw SNU defeat SAU 67-81.
>>> The Blue and Gold seemed to have figured out offensive as the Muleriders had tacked on 77 points and increased their lead to nine with just a minute and a half to go in the contest against Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Bison accounted for three consecutive and ones that began with a three-pointer turned four-pointer. That run of misfortune for Southern Arkansas assisted OBU to gain loads of momentum and to go on a 12-2 run to take the lead at 79-80. After a foul on an inbound by the Muleriders, the Bison added two more points from the charity stripe that resulted in the final results of the match, 79-82.
 
Home for the Holidays
>>> When Southern Arkansas has played at home during November, the Muleriders are 21-8 overall and have not lost a game in the W.T. Watson Center since falling to Henderson State on a buzzer-beater in the 2021-22 season. Oddly enough, the Muleriders' buzzer-beater loss to the Reddies happened while current Southern Arkansas Head Coach Mark Rutledge was on staff for Henderson State.
>>> Last season, Southern Arkansas only saw one contest at home during December as Ouachita Baptist rolled into town on December 9, 2023. The Muleriders had defeated the Tigers convincingly 78-68 before going on the road for the next couple of contests.
>>> In the 2022-23 season, SAU had swept their home December matchups once again with victories against Harding (94-58), Arkansas Tech (62-53), and non-conference opponent out of the GLVC, Drury (87-78).
>>> The last time the Muleriders took on Arkansas Tech at home during the most wonderful time of the year, the unit was led to victory by then-sophomore Carel Ray Jr. The North Carolina native accounted for a double-double in the contest after he recorded 15 rebounds with 14 points, leading the team in both statistical categories.