MAGNOLIA, Ark.- The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (5-9, 2-6) fell just short to the East Central University Tigers (5-9, 2-6) in a two-point loss by a final score of 68-70.
 
The Muleriders came out hot once again taking a 5-2 lead thanks to a couple of quick buckets for Carel Ray Jr. The two teams would trade blows the whole first half but, SAU would hold a 17-13 lead at the midway point in the first half.
 
SAU would then go on an 11-0 run to open up a 10-point lead at 23-13 with 7:30 remaining. The Muleriders would then tack onto their lead as East Central tried to crawl back into the game, opening up their largest lead of the game at 13-points over the Tigers with under a minute to go. East Central would close the gap to 10 points before halftime and SAU took a 35-25 lead into intermission.
 
East Central would not go away quietly coming out of halftime on fire and battling back to tie the game at 43 with 13:20 to go in the second half. The teams would trade blows with neither squad holding more than a three-point lead until the Tigers would take a four-point lead, 64-60 with 3:33 remaining.
 
The Muleriders would pull within one with 25 seconds to go and would force a turnover giving them a chance to win the game in the waning seconds of the second half but East Central's defense would prove to be too much and after going 1-for-1 at the charity stripe, the Tigers would secure only their second Great American Conference victory.
 
SAU would finish the game going 12-for-29 (41.4%) from beyond the arc and 12-for-13 (92.3%) from the charity stripe.
 
Top Performers:
Anthony Igiede: 18 points (led team) and seven rebounds
Carel Ray Jr.: 16 points and four rebounds
Rashad Bishop: 11 points and eight rebounds (led team)
 
Next Up:
The Muleriders will hit the road to Western Oklahoma for their next two games, squaring off against Southwestern Oklahoma State University on January 16th at 7:30 PM then traveling to Alva, Oklahoma to play Northwestern State University on January 18th at 3:00 PM.