SHAWNEE, Okla. – It took all forty minutes for Southern Arkansas on Friday night in the Sooner State, but the Muleriders' relentless effort on both ends of the floor paid off late as Andy Sharpe's bunch converted pressure free throws and forced key turnovers down the stretch to knock off Great American Conference Western Division Champion Oklahoma Baptist 74-71 inside the Noble Complex. Southern Arkansas advances to the program's first GAC title game where bitter league rival UAM awaits in Drew County on Sunday afternoon.
The Muleriders (15-4) just would not quit on Friday night as they overcame an early ten-point deficit in the second half by cutting the Oklahoma Baptist advantage to just three points with 12:44 to play only to see the Bison build its lead back to eight points at 52-44 with 9:47 to play.
"They'll run through a wall for me and that's not something I take likely," remarked Sharpe following the Muleriders' fifth straight win and fourth postseason victory under their ninth-year head coach. "I'm not easy to play for and to see the success that they are having is exciting."
Scoreless in the first half on five attempts from the floor, Great American Conference Player of the Year Aaron Lucas ignited the Muleriders in the final ten minutes as the first of two second half trifectas brushed nylon to pull SAU to within five points of the lead. OBU's all-league performer Harrison Stoddart connected on two shots from the free throw line as the Bison lead momentarily went to seven at the 9:15 mark.
Following the successful free throws from the hosts, the bank was left open for junior guard Victor Irhirhi who used glass after a clean spin and step back to cut the Bison lead down to two possessions.
Lucas hit his second three of the half moments later on an assist from Irhirhi, the Bison answered to go back up four and Rogers buried a three at the 6:14 mark to bring SAU to within a point of tying the game at 58. With 5:34 to play and on the next trip down the court for the Muleriders, Rogers received another good look from distance but a unfriendly rim left the Muleriders down by three.
It certainly wasn't easy for Southern Arkansas as the Bison raised its advantage to six points with under five minutes to play. D. Brooks received a pass inside from Lucas and converted the contested shot that led to an and-1 opportunity which he converted after a lane violation wiped out a first attempt miss.
Big play after big play by the Muleriders created a laundry list of important moments in the postgame play-by-play including a three-point shot from a moving J. Brooks with 3:04 remaining that once again cut the Bison lead to just a bucket. OBU answered to push the lead back to four points and after a steal by Lucas and an offensive rebound by D. Brooks on a three-point miss, Lucas brought the Muleriders back to within a single point of the lead after cashing in on an old fashion three-point play.
Free throws again put the Bison up three with 1:38 to play. Rogers knocked down two pressure charity stripe attempts with 1:25 remaining cut the deficit to 69-68. He followed that effort at the line by connecting on a paint jumped which saw him stall at the top of the key and spin down inside to lay in the bucket as the clock moved under sixty seconds to give the Muleriders their first lead of the game since the 18:33 mark; a span of 37 minutes and 37 seconds. A pair of successful makes from the line by OBU briefly put the Bison up 71-70 moments before D. Brooks calmly sank consecutive free throws at the 34 second mark. A turnover by the Bison in the final twenty seconds found Rogers' hands and he gave the Muleriders a 74-71 lead with two free throws with just 17 seconds to play.
Two final attempts at a three pointer to tie fell unsuccessful for the Bison on the other end which punched SAU's ticket to Sunday afternoon's affair with the Weevils.
"We had a game plan defensively, but our guys took that blueprint and turned it up a notch," noted Sharpe. Southern Arkansas forced 18 turnovers and turned that into 21 points, including 14 such points in the second half with six of those points coming in the final two minutes of play. The Muleriders collected 13 steals lead by Lucas' six and two from J. Brooks. Additionally, the Muleriders forced the Bison, which entered the Friday night tilt with a 38.2% success rate from three-point range with nearly ten makes from beyond-the-arc per game, into a 16.7% three-point clip. The Bison went 0-for-10 from range in the final twenty minutes and only connected on three of their 18 attempts.
Oklahoma Baptist edged SAU in paint points 36-34 and in rebounding 36-32, but the Muleriders used a 42.4% (25-59) shooting night from the floor, a 31.8% (7-22) success rate from range and an impressive season-high 81.0% (17-21) effort from the free throw line including a perfect 9-of-9 in the second half to grab the win.
J. Brooks led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He added three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. D. Brooks delivered his 29th career double-double with 17 points and a season-high 15 rebounds with two blocks and a steal. Rogers added 15 points, including a trio of important three-point shots, and Lucas filled up his stat sheet with 13 second-half points, a career-high ten assists and the aforementioned six steals (to tie his own GAC Tournament record) in a game-high 38 minutes of work.
Friday night's victory marks the program's first postseason appearance with at least two victories since the 1988-89 when SAU Sports Hall of Famer Monroe Ingram led that year's 'Riders to the NAIA District 17 Championship with three wins and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament.
Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello meet for the fifth time this season after UAM managed to dismiss (W3) Henderson State 80-70 in overtime. The Muleriders and Weevils clash with the GAC Tournament Title on the line on Sunday afternoon in Monticello. SAU is currently No. 5 in the South Central Region rankings, while UAM sits at No. 6. Tip-off from inside Steelman Fieldhouse is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Live coverage links for Sunday's championship game matchup will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
Oklahoma Baptist Recap