SHAWNEE, Okla. — The Muleriders have capped off its early Great American Conference trip to the Sooner State and returns to the Natural State with its second loss in conference play. Now looking to bounce back against in-state competition, Southern Arkansas will take on Natural State opponents starting this next week. SAU fell on the road to the Oklahoma Baptist Bison 79-82 in a contest that went down to the very last second to see who would come out on top.
The Muleriders' offensive struggle from Thursday was resolved and looked as if the team was going to secure the victory, but the Bison did not count themselves out late in the contest.
Southern Arkansas with just over a minute and a half to go in the contest, the Muleriders were up 77-68 and looked to close out the contest and earn their first GAC victory of the season. Oklahoma Baptist and its home crowd was not down for the count though as the group had come all the way back with a 2-12 run to regain the lead for the first since being up 60-61 with just over eight and a half minutes to go. SAU's BJ Davis attempted a last second three-pointer and missed resulting in a OBU team rebound. The Bison re-obtained possession with just a second to go and was fouled immediately on the inbound. OBU took a trip to the charity stripe and cashed in both free throws for the 79-82 lead. SAU's Davis attempted one final three to force overtime, but was unsuccessful.
Davis had another solid night, much like Thursday, as the senior from Nashville, Tennessee scored 16 points after shooting 5-14 and 4-8 from three. He was 4-6 prior to his final two attempts at a buzzer-beater shot. The Music City native also recorded five assists and three rebounds.
The leader in scoring for the Muleriders was Kris Cook. The senior from Los Angeles logged 19 points for the evening after he shot 7-11 from the field, 2-6 from beyond the arc, and 3-4 for free throws. He recorded six rebounds with a block and a steal.
Right with Cook was Rashad Bishop as he recorded 18 points after shooting 8-10 with three rebounds.
Southern Arkansas is back in the Natural State for league competition as the group will face Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Arkansas for a 7:30 PM tip off. The group will take on the defending Great American Conference champion Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys on Saturday at 3:00 PM for the final home game before the Christmas break.
