A pair of top five NCAA Division II Central Region teams will square off on the court tonight in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to go over there and compete against the best team on that side. They have had a great year and this gives us an opportunity to see what we are really made of,” Southern Arkansas head coach Andy Sharpe said following his Muleriders’ 82-74 tournament victory over East Central at the W.T. Watson Center. “We’re excited about going, playing hard and seeing what happens.”
Tonight, SAU will be inside the Noble Complex in Shawnee, OK, for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with Oklahoma Baptist University. The Muleriders are currently No. 5 in the South Central Region rankings, while the Bison hold the No. 4 spot. The Bison (15-4) won the GAC’s Western Division, while the Muleriders (14-4) shared the Eastern Division crown with Arkansas-Monticello.
In Wednesday’s victory over the Tigers, Sharpe said he thought his team played really hard.
“There were a lot of things that some of our players did that won’t show up in the box scores. We didn’t play very good the first half, but I liked our efforts on the defensive end,” he said.
Offensively, SAU had four players score in double figures, led by GAC Player of the Year Aaron Lucas. He had a season-high 26 points, while Jalen Brooks scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Devante Brooks finished with 19 point and Blake Rogers added 12.
The Muleriders trailed 35-32 at the half, but outscored the Tigers 50-39 over the final 20 minutes.
The postseason win was the first for the Muleriders since an 83-82 decision over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the opening round of the GAC Tournament five years ago. It is the third tournament win for SAU under Sharpe, whose Muleriders have now won four consecutive games.
On the other side of the GAC bracket, Henderson State and UAM are also playing a semifinal game tonight at 7:30.
The SAU/Oklahoma Baptist and Henderson/UAM winner will meet in the GAC Tournament finals at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.