SHAWNEE – Southern Arkansas's Carel Ray Jr. sunk a turn-around jumper with 16 seconds remaining to lift the Muleriders (10-15,8-11 GAC) to a 70-69 victory over Oklahoma Baptist (10-15,7-12 GAC) on Thursday night inside the Noble Complex.
OBU would attempt two more field goals after the shot, but neither would fall as the Bison dropped their fifth-straight contest and third game this season by one point.
SAU hit 12-of-22 from beyond the arc, its most three-point makes in 12 games, while OBU charted nine threes. Additionally, it was the Muleriders' best percentage from deep since Dec. 9, 2023.
LEADERS
Ricky Brown paced the green and gold with 17 points on 50.0 percent (6-12) shooting. Brown nailed five triples for a third straight game, sinking 62.5 percent of his attempts from deep. The guard also added four boards and three assists.
Joshua Udoumoh and Trevin Wade scored 14 and 13 points, respectively. Wade collected a team-high in steals (3) while Udoumoh brought down seven rebounds.
Nathan Wilson also reached double figures, pairing 11 points with a game-high eight boards.
FIRST HALF
Oklahoma Baptist began the game on a 10-5 sprint, including seven points from Wade. OBU extended its advantage to 10 by the 12:52 mark, following another 9-2 run, before Southern Arkansas came storming back.
The Muleriders trimmed their deficit over the next five minutes before gaining their first lead of the game, 22-21. But just as they started, the Bison caught fire again.
Brown led a 12-5 stretch to put Oklahoma Baptist ahead by nine, contributing eight total points during the span.
Southern Arkansas overcame that deficit, too, as they ended the period on an 11-2 sprint with the help of three triples from Gregory Hammond Jr. SAU led 35-33 at the break.
SAU recovered from their slow start and finished the half with a 40.0 field goal percentage, while OBU shot 37.5 percent. The clubs combined for 14 threes, paced by eight makes from the Muleriders.
SECOND HALF
The teams continued to trade leads at the beginning of the second half until a Brown three-pointer prompted a 9-0 run that gave Oklahoma Baptist a 10-point, 53-43 lead.
However, SAU refused to stay away and crawled back to trail by two points with a little over seven minutes left. A few possessions later, another triple from Brown silenced the momentum.
The Bison stayed out in front until Ray gave SAU a one-point, 68-67 lead with 53 ticks remaining. Wade retrieved the advantage moments later with a layup, but it was to no avail as Ray's jumper rang true one final time to guide Southern Arkansas to victory.
NEXT UP
Oklahoma Baptist will host Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday inside the Noble Complex at 3:00 p.m.
