SAU Sports Information
BETHANY, Okla. – Southern Nazarene (2-0, 1-0 GAC) increased a six-point halftime advantage to 17 points following the intermission, but Southern Arkansas 1-2, 0-1 GAC) battled throughout the second half but came up short down the stretch as the Crimson Storm topped the Muleriders 90-81 in the GAC opener for both schools on Thursday night inside the Sawyer Center.
The Muleriders trailed 39-33 at the intermission.
The Crimson Storm took control of the game coming out of the halftime break as their lead blossomed to 15 after an 11-0 run pushed their advantage to 50-33 at the 17:17 mark of the final half.
The Muleriders, behind C.J. Elkins, managed to cut to four, 59-55, later in the game
Moments later, Charlie Thomas ignited the SAU bench with an old-fashioned three-point play that kept the deficit at four, 65-61.
SAU trailed 82-77 and eventually lost 90-81.
Elkins led the offense with 20 points including an 84.6 percent (11-of-13) clip from the free throw line. He added two assists and picked up a pair of steals in a team-high 35 minutes.
Lukas Hart followed with 16 points, while Keeton Tennison added 10.
Six Muleriders grabbed three of more boards led by Tennison's five.
The Muleriders were almost identical in shooting from the first half (11-of-33 for 33 percent) to the second half (11-of-32 for 34 percent), but connected on 17 more free throws in the final 20 minutes to help pound away at the Southern Nazarene lead.
The Muleriders heads east into Shawnee, Okla., for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday against Oklahoma Baptist inside the Noble Complex. The Muleriders will look to improve to 5-0 all-time against the Bison.
On Monday, the Muleriders will host Ecclesia College at 6 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center.