Tweet #theGAC  MONTICELLO, Ark. – DaJuan Jones’ driving layup with 3.5 seconds left gave Arkansas-Monticello the 2021 Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championship title as the Weevils defeated rival Southern Arkansas, 75-74, on Sunday from Steelman Field House.
 
Jones, the Tournament MVP, scored the team’s final six points as the Weevils (16-4) took advantage of late missed free throws by the Muleriders (15-5). Trailing 74-71, his uncontested layup with 11.4 seconds left brought the Weevils to within one. Following two missed free throws by GAC Player of the Year Aaron Lucas, he drove coast-to-coast and banked home the winner. SAU’s end-of-game effort by Jalen Brook banged harmlessly off the backboard and the Weevils won their first tournament title after having finished second in both 2017 and 2018.
 
For the second-straight GAC Championship game, UAM fell behind early. Two days after allowing Henderson State to score the game’s first nine points, Southern Arkansas jumped out to a 22-11 advantage through the game’s opening 12 minutes. The Weevils responded with a 14-2 burst to take their first lead of the contest. From there, neither team held a lead greater than five points. It featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes.
 
Jones averaged 16.7 points and 7.7 assists to claim Tournament MVP honors. Fellow Weevils Denzel McDuffey and Miles Daniels also made the All-Tournament Team. On Sunday, McDuffey scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. For the tournament, he averaged a double-double – 13.3 points and 10.0 rebounds. Daniels went 14-for-29 from the 3-point arc in averaging 17.7 points per game
 
Lucas headed up three Mulerider representatives on the team alongside Blake Rogers and DeVante Brooks. He averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 assists and shot 56.4 percent. Rogers averaged 15.0 points per game and converted all 16 of his free-throw attempts. Brooks had totaled 36 points and 24 rebounds in SAU’s first two games. An apparent in-game injury limited him to four points and seven rebounds in just 21 minutes of action on Sunday.
 
Oklahoma Baptist’s Brantly Thompson and Henderson State’s Raekwon Rogers filled out the team. Thompson set the Championship’s single-game record for assists when he dished out 13 on Wednesday against Ouachita. Rogers, a two-time All-Tournament Team honoree, averaged 18.7 points - on 70.6 percent shooting – and 7.0 rebounds in three games.
 
The Weevils will head to Lubbock, Texas for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional, their third NCAA bid in program history. They will learn their opponent during Sunday night’s selection show. It streams at 9:30 p.m. on NCAA.com. Southern Arkansas and Oklahoma Baptist hope to earn at-large spots.