SHAWNEE, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (7-11, 4-8) fell tonight to the Oklahoma Baptist University Bison (16-2, 10-2) by a final score of 55-76 after a long layoff due to icy weather.
 
SAU broke the ice early as Junior Williams converted an early layup on his way to a career-high scoring night as the Muleriders took a 2-0 lead. The Bison then responded, and the battle began. The Muleriders were able to hold the contest close until the Bison began to pull away at the 12:57 mark in the first half taking a 10-point lead, 18-8 OBU.
 
The SAU offense went cold until the 7:10 mark in the first half as they came alive closing the gap on the Bison and with 4:03 remaining OBU led 29-17. The Bison did respond opening a 17-point 42-25 lead at the half. After the half, the Muleriders continued to fight but OBU's offense was too much to handle tonight in Shawnee.
 
Despite the loss, Junior Williams set a new career high in scoring tonight with 24-points. Williams was also the leading rebounder with seven in the game and played 35 out of the 40 minutes.
 
"Against really good teams like Oklahoma Baptist you can't beat yourself," said Head Coach Mark Rutledge. "Giving up offensive rebounds and turning the ball over is beating yourself. Credit to OBU they are playing really well right now. Proud of how our younger group fought and played hard especially Junior Williams."
 
Top Performers
Junior Williams: 24 points (career high), 35 minutes, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
Jair Horton: 13 points 3 rebounds, 1 steal
 
Next Up
The Muleriders will continue their road trip tomorrow, Saturday, January 31st as they play Southern Nazarene University. With the games being moved to Friday Saturday this week, tomorrow's first tip against SNU is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.