ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Carel Ray Jr.'s late-season scoring expo continued in Clark County on Thursday night as the North Carolina native dropped 37 points on 15-of-26 shooting to lead Southern Arkansas past Ouachita for a 22-point win behind a season-high 88 points and in the process keep the Muleriders in the hunt for the Great American Conference Tournament with one game remaining in the regular season. SAU, along with Harding and Oklahoma Baptist, are locked into a three-way tie for seventh entering Saturday's 22^nd and final league affair.

Ray had his way with the basketball in his hands for 38 minutes of action. He reached 37 points for the second game in a row and scored 20 or more for the sixth straight game to boost his scoring average to 19.5 points per game. Ray's 15 made field goals and 26 attempts are both season highs and he added seven rebounds, two steals and an assist to his stat ledger. Gregory Hammond Jr. followed with 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals, one block and an assist. Nevi Tell recorded six rebounds, five assists, two steals and chipped in with five points. Christian Caldwell added eight and five.

Both Cedric Garrett and Jessie Davis Jr. grabbed eight rebounds as Southern Arkansas finished +30 in rebounding which included a +11 clip on the offensive glass. SAU's rebounding margin is the largest against a Division II foe since finishing +33 against Northwestern Oklahoma in the GAC Tournament on March 4, 2022. That date marked the last time SAU reached the half century mark in rebounds as the Muleriders clawed 57 boards against the Rangers.

Southern Arkansas built a 15-point lead at the intermission, behind its largest lead in the opening ten minutes at 14 points, and then outscored the Tigers by nine points in the second half, which saw SAU's lead grow to as much as 26 points, to pick up its fourth-straight win over Ouachita.

SAU controlled second-chance opportunities finishing at +14 in such scoring. Ouachita turned 18 SAU turnovers into 23 points which included 17 in the first half, but the Muleriders shot it well throughout for that statistics to not play a large factor in the outcome. Southern Arkansas finished with a 51.8% clip from the floor, its second highest effort of the season, and made nine of its 21 three-point attempts and 75% of its shots from the stripe. The Muleriders matched the team's season high in made free throws with 21.

The Muleriders face league-leading Arkansas Tech, which is vying for a regular season title and the tournament's top seed, at 3 p.m. on Saturday inside the W.T. Watson Center. It will be Senior Day for SAU with Garrett and Hammond honored prior to tip-off. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.