Total team effort led by Elkins and Perkins gives Muleriders pivotal GAC win on the road at Arkansas Tech, 80-76

 

January 14, 2018



RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Junior guards CJ Elkins and Draylan Perkins combined for 38 points and the duo led a total team effort on Saturday afternoon as Southern Arkansas picked up a pivotal Great American Conference win by handing Arkansas Tech its first home loss of the season in an 80-76 victory inside Tucker Coliseum. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Muleriders against Arkansas Tech and puts SAU at 3-5 in league play and after consecutive conference wins in the thick of the standings with 14 GAC games remaining on the schedule.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Muleriders took a 39-34 lead into the halftime break, before Tech used the next 13 minutes of the second half to build an eight-point lead by outscoring Southern Arkansas 32-19 in that timespan.

With 6:25 to play, Keeton Tennison drained a three-pointer and more importantly sparked a game-changing run as Elkins followed with a layup, while Perkins knocked down a triple-try to tie the game at 66 with 5:33 remaining in the second half.

Perkins added two free throws to make it a 10-0 run for the Muleriders who took a 68-66 lead with 5:07 left.

A three-pointer by Tech's Freddy Lee gave Tech a 69-68 lead momentarily, before Wesley Nosakhare scored inside with 3:43 to play and Gabe Gilliam tacked onto the one-point lead with his fourth trifecta as SAU led 73-69 with 3:26 to play.

A free throw by Tech's Alex Brown would serve as the last point for the Wonder Boys with 1:52 to play as SAU engineered a 19-10 run to close out the game.

Elkins attempted his second-most attempts from the floor on the season (17) and his final shot was possibly his most impressive of the afternoon. With 54 seconds to play, Elkins attempted to drive inside, stopped just inside the top of the key and called bank as he used the backboard to increase Southern Arkansas' lead to two possessions, 75-70.

Elkins then grabbed a rebound on a high-percentage shot that did not fall for the Wonder Boys on the ensuing possession and made a quick outlet pass to Perkins who laid it in uncontested to increase the Mulerider lead to seven, 77-70.

A successful three-point attempt from Tech's RJ Glasper was answered by Perkins as he made both of his free throw shots with 24 seconds left to give SAU a 79-73 lead.

Glasper followed with an old fashioned three-point play to cut the SAU lead to three, 79-76, but with 12 seconds left, an Aaron Lucas free throw made it a four-point game, before a late three-point attempt by the Wonder Boys, with SAU not guarding to prevent a foul, rimmed out.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The Muleriders shot 48% (27-of-56) from the floor on Saturday afternoon and a critical 46% (11-of-24) from three-point range.

Despite 18 turnovers and allowing 14 offensive rebounds, SAU won the rebound battle (42-40) and edged Tech in points in the paint (30-26).

Elkins' 21 points, his eighth game this season in double-figure scoring and third with 20 or more, came on 9-of-17 shooting and he filled up the rest of the stat line by adding eight rebounds and eight assists, while committing just one turnover.

Perkins scored 17 points, which included three trifectas and a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line.

Gabe Gilliam matched his career-high in scoring with a dozen points in a career-best 4-of-7 shooting effort from beyond-the-arc.

Tennison followed with 11 points including a trio of three-point makes and the senior added a career-high nine rebounds.

DeVante Brooks and Charlie Thomas each collected six rebounds.

Saturday's action saw six tied scores and 12 lead changes as the largest lead for either team was just eight points. The 76 points for Tech in the loss marks the first time this season that an opponent has held the Wonder Boys under 80 points in a game.

UP NEXT

Southern Arkansas faces a quick turnaround and returns to action at home inside the W.T. Watson Center on Tuesday, January 16, for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off with league-rival Arkansas-Monticello. Live coverage links available at http://www.muleriderathletics.com.

 

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