ADA, Okla. - The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (9-12, 6-9) fell to the East Central University Tigers (8-13, 5-10) by a final score of 62-75 in Ada, Oklahoma.
 
The Muleriders would break the ice first with an early two from Christian Caldwell, 2-0. East Central responded quickly with a three to take a 3-2 lead only 44 seconds into the game. The two teams would battle but ECU would take a seven-point lead at the 16:47 mark in the first half. The Muleriders would pull within one point of ECU after a Christian Caldwell jumper at the 14:52 mark in the first half, 10-11.
 
The next five minutes of play would see both teams continue to battle after a Zac Pennington three made it a one point game yet again but the Tigers still led, 24-25. Both teams would continue to battle trading scores for the remainder of the first half and East Central took a 39-37 lead into halftime.
 
SAU would come out of halftime and tie the game at 39 all as Anthony Igiede would convert a layup following a BJ Davis steal. East Central would quickly regain the lead and not look back for the remainder of the second half. The Tigers offense would prove to be too much to handle for the Muleriders as they fell on the road.
 
Despite the loss three Muleriders finished with double-digit scoring performances including a double-double performance from Christian Caldwell. Christian Caldwell (16 points) (13 rebounds), BJ Davis (12 points), and Anthony Igiede (12 points) all scored double-digits in the loss.
 
Top Performers:
Christian Caldwell: 16 points (led team) and 13 rebounds (led team)
BJ Davis: 12 points
Anthony Igiede: 12 points and nine rebounds
 
Next Up:
The Muleriders will continue their road trip as they head to Durant, Oklahoma to play the Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savage Storm on Saturday, February 8th. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM.