Muleriders blow out Weevils on Senior Night

Lady Muleriders fall to Cotton Blossoms but still have shot at GAC Tournament

Six Southern Arkansas Muleriders scored in double figures during a 105-85 win over Arkansas-Monticello Thursday night.

"We had a great environment here for Senior Night and we really shot the ball well," said SAU head coach Andy Sharpe.

The Muleriders shot 57 percent from the field, which included 64 percent in the second half. They were also 13-of 29 from 3-point range.

"It was exciting to get this win and it was a big one," said Sharpe.

The contest was close for the first 10 minutes with neither team able to gain a more than a two-point lead.

The battle was even at 17-17 with 14:05 on the clock and 23-23 at the 11:45 mark.

Three-pointers by Chauncy Williams and Jaron Davis help the Muleriders lead by four, 29-25, with 10:28 to play in the first half.

But an 11-2 run over the final six minutes, sparked by Deon Andrews, provided some space for SAU.

A 3-pointer by Davis at the buzzer allowed SAU to lead 49-35 at half-time.

The Boll Weevils managed to close the gap to seven, 55-48, after the first five minutes of the second half.

SAU responded and stretched the lead to 13 three minutes later. The Muleriders led by 22 points, 82-60, with seven minutes to play.

Williams canned a pair of long-range 3-pointers in the closing seconds as the Muleriders won by 20.

"Hopefully our confidence is back and going over to Henderson Saturday will be a big deal," said Sharpe.

"I thought we did a decent job of handling the pressure and having two point guards on the floor at the same time help," he added.

Sharpe said he's just happy the Muleriders shared the ball.

Williams led the team in scoring with 24 and Davis added 23. Tyrell Taylor and Kevin Jordan had 14 apiece, D.J. Frye added 12 and Andrews finished with 11.

Cotton Blossoms 77,

Lady Muleriders 63

The Lady Muleriders (8-17, 6-13 GAC) led by three at the intermission, 41-38.

The Cotton Blossoms took a three-point lead in their first three possessions of the second half.

At the 16:51 mark, Rosa Bryant knocked down a bucket to pull SAU to within a possession, 46-44.

A UAM three-bucket on the next trip down was answered by Cemetra Jenkins who dropped a trey of her own with 15:19 left to play to keep the SAU deficit at two, 49-47.

An 18-10 UAM run put the Cotton Blossoms up 10 with 6:57 left to play and Southern Arkansas would only manage to cut the lead down to eight.

Allie Wade had 13 points and Rosa Bryant added 11 points.

Despite the loss, the eighth and final spot in the GAC Tournament is still up for grabs.

SAU remains in a tie with OBU for the final spot that will be decided on the last day of the regular season.

The Lady Muleriders close out regular season play with a 1 p.m. tip-off at Henderson State on Saturday.

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