MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Southern Arkansas Men's Basketball stares down a pivotal and potentially season-defining weekend in Magnolia as Great American Conference action is on the docket on Thursday and Saturday from inside the W.T. Watson Center. The Muleriders welcome in East Central (9-11, 5-9 GAC) on Thursday night for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off and then turn their attention to a Saturday afternoon tilt against league-leading Southeastern Oklahoma State (15-7, 11-3 GAC). Live coverage links of all the action are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
As Steady as the Shifting S(t)and(ings)
The only certainty in the Great American Conference standings this season has been the game-by-game shuffling that happens every Thursday and Saturday around the league. The Muleriders are currently in a three-way tie for seventh place with a 6-8 record in GAC action. SAU is three games out of third place and just a single game up on two teams including a 5-9 East Central squad that comes to town on Thursday night. SAU matches up with a SOSU team that heads to Monitcello on Thursday night tied for the league lead and winners of their last five trips to the floor. 
 
Board Meeting
The Muleriders continue to show a prowess for grabbing rebounds. SAU ranks 22nd nationally in rebound margin at 6.1 which leads the GAC and ranks third in the Central Region. SAU is second in the GAC in both offensive rebounds per game (12.5) and rebounds per game (37.5) and third in defensive rebounds per game (25.05).
 
Carel Ray Jr. leads the charge on the boards as his 153 rebounds this season are the third-most in the GAC, while his 8.1 per game average ranks second. He ranks third in offensive rebounds with 2.63 per game and fourth in defensive rebounds with 5.42 per game behind Gregory Hammond Jr.'s league-leading defensive boards average of 5.93. Hammond is currently fourth in the GAC in rebound average at 7.7.
 
Charity Stripe Successes
Two Muleriders are having solid seasons at the charity stripe. Anthony Igiede ranks fourth in the conference in free throw percentage at 87.5% and Ray is eighth at 81.4%. Both players are inside the top 30 regionally with Igiede's current mark ranking 10th.
 
Dur-RAY-ble
Ray's 35:05 minutes per game ranks sixth in the GAC, 14th in the Central Region and is a top 50 mark in DII. Six times this season Ray has played 39 or more minutes including not leaving the floor twice. No Mulerider in the program's GAC Era has ever averaged 35.0 or more minutes per game.
 
Noteworthy Numbers
Southern Arkansas is averaging 70.4 ppg with a scoring margin of -1.0. The Muleriders are shooting 43.3% from the floor and defending at 44.3% overall. From three, SAU is shooting just over 30% and allowing opponents to connect on 33.7%.
 
Tigers Prowling
East Central enters the weekend averaging just over 68 points per game, while allowing under 70 points per game which ranks fourth in the GAC and is a top 70 defense in DII. ECU ranks third in turnovers forced per game at 14.05 which ranks third in the GAC and the team's 16.4 fouls per game are the fourth-fewest.
 
Keyon Thomas leads ECU in scoring at 13.8 points per game and Godsgift Ezedinma follows at 12.2 ppg. Four players have hit two dozen or more three pointers led by Ezedinma's 36. Robel Desta's 49% from beyond-the-arc paces the three-point effort. Thomas also leads in assists with 76. Mohamed Elgohary is the top rebounder at 6.0 per game.
 
In the previous meeting, "double double efforts from Carel Ray Jr. and Christian Caldwell highlighted five Muleriders in double figures on Saturday afternoon in Ada and Southern Arkansas led wire to wire to snap a five-game losing streak with a 79-61 Great American Conference win over East Central from inside Kerr Activities Center."
 
Last Time Out (1/14/24): Southern Arkansas 79, East Central 61 (Recap | Box Score)
 
Storm Warning
The Savage Storm lead the GAC in a multitude of categories including assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, effective FG%, FG%, FT%, free throws made per game, scoring offense, steals per game, three point attempts per game, three point makes per game, turnover margin and turnovers forced per game. SOSU's 85.8 ppg ranks second in the Central Region as do the squad's 10.1 three-pointers made per game.
 
Brennen Burns leads the Central Region in assists with 140 and in assists per game with 6.4 both of which rank second nationally. Both Burns and Kody Clouet own shooting clips that land inside the top 12 regionally. Burns shoots the fourth-highest clip at 55.9% and Clouet follows at 52.2%. The two have combined for 255 made field goals this season. Jett Sternberger ranks fourth nationally in free throw percentage at 93.2%. Clouet's three-point percentage of 45.5% ranks 14th nationally and second in the Central Region.
 
In the previous meeting, "Thursday night's Great American Conference matchup inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena went the way of host (RV) Southeastern Oklahoma, but not without a hot shooting night from Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders shot 51.7% from the floor and matched that effort from three-point range as second-year head coach Logan Quinn's squad finished a made three-pointer away from matching the single-game record of 16, but the Savage Storm managed to put down the visitors at the charity stripe in a 88-82 SE victory. The fast-paced contest was highlighted by nine tied scores and four lead changes and a collective 22 made three-point shots. The loss drops the Muleriders to 4-9 overall, 2-5 in GAC action and increases the losing skid to five games, while SE took outright second place in the league standings with an overall mark of 9-6 and a 5-2 record in conference play."
 
Last Time Out (1/12/24): Southeastern Oklahoma 88, Southern Arkansas 82 (Recap | Box Score)
 
CALLing the Community
On February 8, Mulerider Athletics is set to highlight local non-profit organization The CALL. Admission is FREE to the general public, but Mulerider Athletics asks that fans and supporters consider making a monetary donation and/or a donation of diapers to The CALL to help with the organization's efforts in establishing and opening a support center in Magnolia to better serve children and teens in foster care in and around Columbia and Lafayette County.
 
"Community Night is a special event that we enjoy offering each basketball season," remarked SAU Director of Athletics Steve Browning. "We have some of the most loyal supporters in the country and their love of Mulerider Basketball and their community is tremendous."
 
Browning added, "Our community supports our department in so many ways and our student-athletes truly enjoy interacting with and mentoring the youth of our community. To be able to partner with an organization as important as The CALL and their life-changing mission is special to us as a department. We carry a shared vision in caring for those that need it most. Great basketball, a great local organization to support and the best fans in the country. We look forward to a great turnout!"
 
The CALL is a non-profit organization that mobilizes local churches to serve local children and youth placed in foster care. The CALL partners with the Division of Children and Family Services to recruit, train and support foster and adoptive families for children and teens in foster care. Our hope is to see a day where there are no children in Arkansas waiting for families. Because what children and youth in foster care need most is a family to care for them as they heal from abuse or neglect.
 
Fans will be treated to free select concession items (while supplies last) and members of the community will have several opportunities to win prizes throughout the night with special giveaways planned.