ADA, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (6-8, 3-5 GAC) earned a gritty win over the East Central University Tigers (7-7, 2-6 GAC) to snap a four-game losing skid. Kendal Parker finished the game with a career high 18-points as SAU won 78-74.
 
The Muleriders got the scoring going early as Greg Moore Jr. drained an early transition fastbreak three after a steal from Junior Williams to put SAU up 3-0 early. The Tigers then battled back and went on an 8-0 run to take an 8-3 lead before Troy'reon Ramos converted went 1-1 at the free throw line to end the Tigers run. The two teams battled from there until Kendal Parker drained a three to put SAU back on top 12-11 with 13:11 remaining in the first half.
 
From there, the Muleriders began to pull away opening an 11-point lead, 25-14 with seven minutes remaining as all the momentum was on the side of SAU. East Central did not go away quietly though as they took control of the game as the SAU offense went cold and ECU tied the game at 25-25 with 3:43 remaining before the break. The teams battled through the remainder of the first half but, ECU pulled away and took a four-point lead into the intermission, 37-33.
 
The Tigers picked up right where they left off in second half as their offense continued to stay hot. The Muleriders hung in and kept the game close setting up a huge comeback opportunity for SAU.
 
At the 7:03 mark in the second half, East Central held a nine-point advantage, 62-53, but the Muleriders began to catch fire offensively. SAU began to reel in ECU tying the game at 66-66 with 2:51 remaining. The Tigers retook the lead again, but SAU quickly tied it up at 68-68 with 2:15 remaining. The game took a turn after Kendal Parker converted his and one free throw as all the momentum was back again with the Muleriders. Despite ECU taking a late lead, a clutch three pointer from Troy'reon Ramos lit the spark for the offense giving SAU a 74-72 lead with 20 seconds remaining. The rest of the SAU points came from Greg Moore Jr. at the free throw line as the Tigers desperately fouled him, but Moore Jr. came up clutch going 4-4 in the last 10 seconds of play to put the game on ice.
 
"We have a very resilient group! We talked about staying together and playing hard through adversity but mainly playing to the standard regardless of the scenario and regardless of the score," said Head Coach Mark Rutledge when asked about the team's grit in today's comeback win. "it's hard to win on the road. There's adversity at every turn. We wanted to dominate the glass. Winning the rebound battle was the key to victory today."
 
The Muleriders won the game in the second half shooting 57.69% from the field and outscoring ECU 45-37. Kendal Parker tied a career high in points and set a new season high for SAU with his 18 today . Parker shot 60% from the field (6-10), 100% from beyond the arc (2-2) and 100% from the charity stripe (4-4). Greg Moore Jr. also scored 18 points in the effort shooting 50% from the field, 2-6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.
 
"Huge game from Kendal Parker! He's a guard that can do it all for us," remarked Head Coach Mark Rutledge when asked about the big performance from Parker. "He just made the right decision possession after possession. I must also mention the effort by Troy'reon Ramos as well. His contribution won't pop out in the stat sheet but his second half defense and aggression were huge for us. He also just made the right play time after time."
 
Top Performers
Kendal Parker: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Greg Moore Jr.: 18 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds
Junior Williams: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Jair Horton: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
Troy'reon Ramos: 8 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds
 
Up Next
The Muleriders will return home to Magnolia for a game against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday, January 15th inside the W.T. Watson Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.