ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After one final trip to Clark County, the Muleriders have concluded their first half of the season after a hard fought attempt at a late comeback against the Henderson State Reddies. Southern Arkansas traveled into the Duke Wells Center looking to seize a second win in Arkadelphia this season as the group was down by as much as 15 (52-67) in the second half and nearly came all the way back. Henderson State held off the Blue and Gold just enough in the final stretch with a couple of free throws to clinch the contest.
The Reddies continue their red-hot start to the season as they advance to 8-3 with a 4-1 record in the Great American Conference. After coming up just short, the Muleriders now move to 4-7 on the season with a 1-4 record in the league.
Leading the way for Southern Arkansas in scoring was senior Carel Ray Jr. with 17 points. The Four Oaks, North Carolina native shot 40% from the field with the majority of his makes coming from beyond the arc (3-5). CJ proved to be very effective at the stripe as he was 100% making six for six in the contest. Ray Jr. also added on eight rebounds and a pair of assists.
Making just his second GAC contest appearance was Marcus Rodgers Jr. The native of Denver, Colorado was 5-8 on the field and 2-5 from three. For the night, Rodgers Jr. accounted for 13 points and saw a season-high in scoring for 2024-25.
Anthony Igiede broke some silence as he could have changed his zip code to the charity stripe after having eight free throw attempts and making seven of them. From the field he was 2-3 and on the he scored 11 points.
The final double-digit scorer for Southern Arkansas was Chase Jenkins. The junior from Titusville, Florida was 3-6 from the field and 50% from for three as well making 2-4. With a couple of free throws made he recorded ten points in the contest.
Southern Arkansas saw much progress in the second half compared to the first as the group improved its field goal percentage of 28.13% to 40.00% in the second half. With the Reddies' first half lead of 31-38, the Muleriders came up three points short in the second even with outscoring Henderson State 45-41.
With the final outing of December in the books, Southern Arkansas now looks to utilize the break and looks forward to re-enter the W.T. Watson Center January 4 to take on the Harding Bisons.
