MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Four players scored in double figures for (E2) Southern Arkansas on Wednesday night inside the W.T. Watson Center. Led by Great American Conference Player of the Year Aaron Lucas' season-high 26 points and All-GAC Honorable Mention junior combo Jalen Brooks' heavy double-double effort of 20 points and 14 rebounds the Muleriders powered past (W3) East Central 82-74 in the quarterfinal round of the GAC Tournament to advance to Friday night's semifinal matchup with GAC West Division Champion Oklahoma Baptist.
The Muleriders (14-4) trailed 35-32 at the half after the opening twenty minutes of action saw neither team engineer a run greater than 5-0, while the largest first half advantage for either squad stood at just four points. The first half alone saw seven tied scores and eight lead changes.
In the second half, the Tigers' (10-9) lead quickly grew to seven at 40-33, before SAU manufactured a 16-8 run that led to a 49-48 Mulerider lead with 12:37 to play.
Trailing 48-44, senior forward and unanimous All-GAC First Team honoree Devante Brooks assisted Lucas with the ball and a screen as the latter knocked down one of his three trifectas on the night to pull the Muleriders to within a point of the lead. On SAU's ensuing trip down the court, junior guard Kris Wyche pushed an outlet pass up the floor to Jalen Brooks who screamed inside for the fast break basket and a 49-48 Mulerider lead.
Southern Arkansas would build a ten-point advantage 62-52 with 9:23 to play, but the Tigers used the next five-plus minutes to cut their deficit down to a single point at 66-65 with 4:13 remaining. Two free throws by the elder of the Brooks Brothers pushed SAU out front by three and with just under three minutes to play, Jalen intercepted a pass, drove three-fourths of the court and while unable to finish on a contested fast break opportunity, Devante cleaned up the miss with a put back dunk.
Leading 70-65, Southern Arkansas would score on its next two possessions as Jalen converted inside on an assist from junior guard Blake Rogers which was followed up by Lucas converting a hoop-and-the-harm off of a steal by Devante to push the Muleriders out front 74-65 with 1:44 to play. Rogers scored the next four points for SAU and Lucas added three free throws late to ice the contest.
Offensively, the scoring happened inside for the Muleriders in the win as SAU posted 50 points in the paint behind an overall shooting percentage of 50.0%. SAU used several fast break opportunities in the second half to score 11 of their 15 such points in the final twenty minutes. Additionally, Southern Arkansas scored 17 of its 22 points off turnovers in the second half and shot a season-high 80.8% (21-26) at the free throw line, while committing a season-low eight turnovers.
Defensively, the Muleriders overcame a 49.2% (29-59) overall shooting clip from the Tigers including a 55.56% (15-27) in the second half. The Muleriders grabbed 11 steals with four blocks and won the rebounding battle 33-30.
Lucas' 26 points came on an efficient 9-15 shooting and he added three steals. J. Brooks did not leave the floor as he played all 40 minutes. He added two steals and was 8-13 shooting from the field as he recorded his sixth double-double of the season. D. Brooks followed with 19 points and nine rebounds with two steals, a block and one steal. Rogers chipped in with a dozen points; his 11th game this season in double-figure scoring, and added two assists and a steal.
Wednesday night's victory is the fourth straight for Southern Arkansas and the team's 82 points mark the fourth time this season the Muleriders eclipsed the 80-point mark in scoring.
The postseason win is the first for the Muleriders since an 83-82 decision over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the opening round of the GAC Tournament five years ago to the date. It is the third tournament win for SAU under Sharpe.
Tip-off from inside the Noble Complex in Shawnee, Oklahoma, is set for 7:30 p.m. The Muleriders are currently No. 5 in the South Central Region rankings, while the Bison sit at No. 4.
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