DURANT, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (5-8, 2-5 GAC) fell on the road tonight to the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm (4-9, 3-4 GAC) by a final score of 96-87.
 
The Muleriders started off the scoring with an early two from Junior Williams as the game got underway. A three followed by a layup from the Savage Storm gave Southeastern the lead 5-2 with 17:51 to go in the first half. The Muleriders then tied the game at 5-5 then taking the lead with two Junior Williams free throws. The Savage Storm then took the lead and started to heat up taking a 14-point lead, 35-21 with 6:13 to go in the first half.
 
The Muleriders began to reel the Savage Storm in pulling the Southeastern lead to just three points, 41-44 as the first half ended.
 
SAU came out hot to begin the second half as JaKourion Key converted the dunk to make pull within one. The Blue and Gold then took the lead with a JaKourion Key layup and held it until the 12:23 mark in the second half when the Savage Storm tied the game at 61-61. The two teams battled as the lead continued to change, and both teams threw punches. Eventually with 9:25 to go, Southeastern took the lead and did not relinquish it as they held on to win the game despite a late comeback attempt from SAU.
 
"Very tough loss. Southeastern shot the ball very well especially from the free throw line," remarked Head Coach Mark Rutledge. "It's going to be extremely hard for us to beat anybody when they shoot 36 free throws to our 17. We finally got our offense going again. Proud of how we shared the ball and finished. We must do a better job of not fouling and we will."
 
Troy'reon Ramos joined the 1,000-career point club as he needed one point entering tonight and finished with four total.
 
Top Performers:
Jair Horton: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Junior Williams: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist
Greg Moore Jr.: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Kendal Parker: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
 
Up Next
The Muleriders will continue their road trip this Saturday, January 10th against East Central University. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.