MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (7-9, 4-6 GAC) fell tonight inside the W.T. Watson center to the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers (7-9, 4-6 GAC) by a final score of 64-69.
 
The Rangers got the scoring going with an early bucket as the game got underway. Junior Williams quickly followed with two free throws to tie the game at 2-2 at the 18:56 mark to in the first quarter. From there, the battle began as both teams traded blows but, NWOSU built a seven-point lead at the 14:29 mark, 14-7. The Muleriders did not go away quietly though as they battled back, taking a 15-14 lead with 9:41 remaining as Greg Moore Jr. laid it in for a fastbreak bucket.
 
NWOSU retook the lead shortly after, but the Muleriders offense caught fire taking the lead right back then opening up a three-point lead right before halftime as Junior Williams converted a tough layup. At the half, SAU led 37-34.
 
SAU's offense came out hot to open the second half opening up a nine-point, 45-36 lead with 17:24 remaining. The Rangers did not let the Muleriders pull too far ahead as their offense got going eventually tying the game at 52-52 with 10 minutes remaining. The last six minutes of play was back and forth until NWOSU took the lead with 1:32 remaining and didn't look back. SAU continued to battle until the final buzzer but fell short today.
 
"We beat ourselves today by not taking care of the ball and by allowing 12 offensive rebounds," said Head Coach Mark Rutledge. "Credit to Northwestern for how hard they played. They did an elite job of turning our turnovers into points and pushing the pace."
 
Despite the loss, the Muleriders shot 47.1% from beyond the arc and 80% from the charity stripe as well as 46.2% from the field.
 
Top Performers
Greg Moore Jr.: 22 points, 3 rebounds, 5-6 three pointers made
Junior Williams: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
Jair Horton: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
 
Up Next
The Muleriders will begin a four game road trip this week with a trip to Monticello, Arkansas to play UAM on Thursday, January 22nd at 7:30 p.m.