BOX SCORE || BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Jeffrey Walker made a floater in the lane with 32 seconds left as Southern Arkansas pulled off the second upset of the Great American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament as the seventh-seeded Muleriders defeated second-seeded Southwestern Oklahoma State, 63-59, on Thursday from Bruin Fieldhouse.
Walker finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Muleriders (12-15) who won their first postseason game since the 1999-2000 season when SAU knocked off Alabama-Huntsville in the opening-round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament that year. Alre'k Brown added 10 points and 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double this season.
SAU seized control late in the first half thanks to a 22-5 run and built a 12-point lead with 2:09 left in the opening half. SWOSU (17-10) narrowed the margin to seven by the intermission and regained the lead in the second half thanks to a 26-10 run of its own. In the closely contested battle, neither team held a lead greater than four points over the final 15:39.
The Bulldogs held a 59-57 lead late after six-straight points by Gary Inglett. The Muleriders tied the game on free throws by Duke Reed with 2:03 to go and took the lead on Walker’s floater. After a missed 3-point try by Rod Camphor, Reed hit a pair of free throws to ice the game.
Walker led four Muleriders in double figures. Tyrell Taylor added 15 points and five assists. Chauncy Williams pitched in with 14 points and six rebounds. The Muleriders outrebounded the Bulldogs by eight and committed just eight turnovers while handing out 19 assists.
Camphor, the GAC Player of the Year, scored a game-high 17 points. Inglett added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Muleriders will face Henderson State in Saturday's first semifinal contest, set for Noon. The Reddies won both regular-season contests, including a 59-43 decision in Magnolia, Ark. on the final day of the regular season. All GAC Championship games stream live at
GACSportsNetwork.com.