SAU's Keeton Thomas hit five 3-pointers Thursday night against OBU, but his biggest shot came with just over a minute to play.
Clinging to a one-point lead, the senior nailed a long-range jumper that helped the Muleriders (8-7, 4-5 GAC) to a 69-64 win over the Tigers (5-9, 3-6 GAC) at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
"It was not a pretty game. We didn't play our best, but we did find a way to win," said Muleriders' head coach Andy Sharpe.
SAU has now won four consecutive league games.
"A lot of credit goes to our guys. This game went back-and-forth and I wasn't too sure how it was going to end," stated Sharpe. "It tipped in our favor and that credit goes to our guys."
In a game that included five ties and five lead changes, the Muleriders enjoyed a little success in the first half.
After gaining its first lead, 9-6, at the 15:37 mark, SAU got a pair of 3-pointers from Tennison and one from freshman Gabe Gilliam.
A slam by C.J. Elkins and a two-point bucket by Wesley Nosakhare put the Muleriders up by 11 at the seven-minute mark.
The Muleriders managed to lead by only six, 40-34, at half-time.
"There was a lot of bumping and shoving. It was a physical game. I told our guys that the officials were either going to call everything or nothing," explained the coach.
Early in the second-half, Elkins joined the SAU 1,000-point club with a basket and Tennison knocked down his fourth 3-pointer.
With 16:55 on the clock, SAU led by 10, 47-37.
The Tigers then went on a 12-0 run to go up 49-47.
After being tied at 51-51, the battle was deadlocked again at 58-58 with just over six minutes remaining.
The Muleriders, behind the scoring of DeVante Brooks, led 63-58 with 3:16 left. The Tigers got the margin down to one, 63-62, with 1:40 on the clock.
A few seconds later, Tennison hit his fifth consecutive 3-pointer to put SAU up by four and the Muleriders managed to hit 3-of-6 free throws during the final minute.
"There are some things we have to improve on to keep this streak going," said Sharpe. "It was one of those games where coaches are not thinking about plays that win the game, but players who will win in."
From hitting key shots to making important free throws, Sharpe said several of his Muleriders were able to do that.
Tennison did not miss a shot from the field Thursday night, leading the team with 18 points.
Nosakhare followed with 10, while Brooks, Aaron Lucas and Gilliam contributed eight apiece.
Elkins and Charlie Thomas each had seven points.
The Muleriders shot 48 percent from the field, but struggled from the free-throw line by hitting only 10-of-18 shots.
The Tigers had three players score in double figures, led by Aitor Lopez-Breton with 17. Mahlon Martin followed with 14 and Wesley Franklin finished with 13.
The Muleriders will head to Arkadelphia Saturday to battle the Henderson State Reddies at 3 p.m.
On Tuesday, SAU will host UAM at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center in games that were canceled due to the snow earlier this week.