MAGNOLIA, Ark. – In what Mulerider fans hope is the first of many over the next several years, the Brooks Brothers of sophomore DeVante and true freshman Jalen each delivered a double-double as did sophomore Aaron Lucas on Tuesday evening inside the W.T. Watson Center and the trio helped Southern Arkansas to a 68-57 in-region win over the Gulf South Conference's Mississippi College in the first of two games for SAU over Thanksgiving break.
The Muleriders (4-1) have won four straight games and the win on Tuesday night came behind a dominant performance inside as Southern Arkansas outscored the Choctaws 32-16 in the paint, while also grabbing 17 more rebounds than Mississippi College (2-2). The glass cleaning came courtesy of the aforementioned triad that combined for 30 of the team's 45 rebounds.
The first half saw four tied scores and six lead changes, but Southern Arkansas' 39-32 halftime lead would grow to as much as a dozen points on three separate occasions in the final twenty minutes as the Muleriders played solid defense and stayed out of foul trouble as the Choctaws managed just four attempts from the line in second half action on Tuesday night.
Mississippi College was also forced into a 27.3% (6-of-22) shooting clip from three-point range for the game, while the Muleriders used a first-half clip of 58.3% (7-of-12) from beyond-the-arc to help build the seven-point advantage at the intermission. SAU managed just one make in 11 second half tries from three-point range, but in the game's first twenty minutes it was the younger Brooks and sophomore trigger man Gabe Gilliam each knocking down a trio of threes that helped set the tone.
The Choctaws' largest lead of the game was five points at 9-4 with 13:32 to play in an opening ten minutes that saw both sides struggle to find the bottom of the net. Gilliam would hit a three-point shot to cut the deficit to two points and J. Brooks answered a Mississippi College bucket with a trifecta of his own to bring the Muleriders to within a point at 11-10.
Like clockwork, Gilliam sank home a transition three-point shot to put SAU up 13-11 and the Muleriders would not look back despite the Choctaws tying the game at 13 moments later as Southern Arkansas would close the half with a seven-point lead after using a 14-7 run in a four-minute stretch midway through the half to grab the momentum.
Southern Arkansas' second half lead would not drop below seven points in the final 16 minutes as the Muleriders had the answer for the Choctaws on Tuesday night.
D. Brooks added three blocks and along with Frank Royles added three assists.
Southern Arkansas hits the road for its final nonconference game of the season as a 4 pm. tip-off with Union University of the Gulf South Conference awaits on Saturday, November 24, in Jackson, Tennessee. Live coverage of links are available at http://www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
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