MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Mulerider Men's Hoops run it back for one final contest before the Christmas break as the Blue and Gold are prepped for its Arkadelphia finale where they will take on the Henderson State Reddies. Southern Arkansas has been victors of four straight against the group from the west side of the road in Arkadelphia, but by no means has it been an onslaught of the Reddies with the last two meetings being decided by one point.   
 
If you witnessed last year's battle between the Muleriders and the Reddies, you were given a true treat as Southern Arkansas entered the intermission down 23-37 to its visitors in the 2023-24 Great American Conference opener. The Blue and Gold saw what one could say was a "magical" turnaround in the second half as the Muleriders outscored the Reddies 44-29 in the second half to win the outing 67-66. Southern Arkansas was shockingly assisted in the second half by Jessie Davis Jr. who had just recently returned to the court.
 
Henderson State has gotten off to a solid start in conference play as the group is 3-1 in the GAC and has only lost to a 7-3 Harding group is also 3-1 in league play. The Reddies' first pair of wins in week one of GAC competition came in Durant and Ada, Oklahoma where HSU defeated Southeastern Oklahoma 74-71 and East Central 67-58. To begin Natural State contests, Henderson State traveled to Russellville where they overcame Arkansas Tech 75-61.
 
Head Coach Mark Rutledge heads into the Duke Wells Center, which he is more than familiar with as he was the Reddies' associate head coach just three seasons ago. This battle with his former group will be the first time Rutledge enters the Duke Wells Center since departing HSU in 2022 for Angelo State.
 
Southern Arkansas experienced quite an exciting week in the second wave of GAC play as the Muleriders ventured to Arkadelphia, Arkansas for their first contest with Ouachita Baptist on Thursday night. In the game, SAU held a lead by as much as 12 points but would go into overtime against the Tigers after an OUA comeback. In overtime, Ouachita looked to have all the momentum after the unit had returned to life late in the second half. The Blue and Gold was not done though as the Muleriders kept with the Tigers. A last-second three-pointer, down two, by Kris Cook was the nail in the coffin for SAU to claim its first Great American Conference victory of the season, winning 95-94.
 
On Saturday, the Muleriders sought to advance Arkansas Tech's losing streak to six consecutive games, but the Wonder Boys handled Southern Arkansas at home with a 59-64 final.
 
SAU leads the conference in statistical categories such as blocks per game (3.3), offensive rebounds per game (14.10 | 19^th nationally), and three-point attempts per game (28.7).
 
A couple of Muleriders had their best game so far this season last Thursday at Ouachita Baptist. Those two were Christian Caldwell and BJ Davis as both members of the unit accounted for 25+ points with Caldwell leading the team in scoring with 29 points against the Tigers after he shot 9-14 from the field and 11-17 from the charity stripe. The senior from Nacogdoches, Louisiana also recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds along with a pair of steals. Davis, the Nashville, Tennessee native, logged a season-high 28 points after shooting 10-15 overall, 5-8 from three, and 3-4 for free throws.
 
Davis continues to lead the team in scoring with 145 points thus far. The senior has proven he is dangerous from three-point range as he is second in the league for three-point attempts with 69 shots. Davis is fourth in the conference for his percentage from that range as he is making 39.1% from beyond the arc.
 
Southern Arkansas will face Henderson State inside the Duke Wells Center on Thursday at 7:30 PM with live links to streaming and live stats available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com/coverage.