RUSTON, La. – The Southern Arkansas men's basketball continued to prepare for the upcoming season on Thursday night as the Muleriders took on Louisiana Tech in an exhibition game inside the Thomas Assembly Center. The NCAA Division I-affiliated Bulldogs beat SAU by a score of 86-69.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Louisiana Tech opened scoring in the game with a three-pointer by Omar Sherman and the Bulldogs would lead the remainder of the game. The Muleriders hung tough with the Bulldogs however trailing by single digits for much of the first half.
The Bulldogs jumped out to their largest lead of the opening half with 13:12 left on the clock, but SAU went on a 9-0 run to trim a 16-point deficit down to seven points. The beginning of that run came on a pair of made free throws by Snyder Cenecharles and it was capped on a three-pointer by Keeton Tennison.
Another pair of Cenecharles free throws at the 6:40 mark brought SAU to their closest margin against the Bulldogs at six points, 30-24.
It was a single-digit game with exactly a minute left in the half, but the Bulldogs were able to go into the locker room with a 13-point lead, 47-34.
Most of the action in the second half was controlled by the Bulldogs as they pushed their advantage to as much as 26 points with 12:43 left in the game.
The Muleriders continued to battle in the second half and a Tennison three-ball at the 3:31 mark brought SAU as close as they would get to Tech, 14 points, 81-67. The Bulldogs eventually ended the exhibition contest with a 17-point margin of victory
OF NOTE
Three Muleriders scored in double figures in the game lead by sophomore guard and reigning GAC Freshman of the Year, CJ Elkins as he had 17 points.
Tennison and Denarious Lockhart came off the bench and joined Elkins in double figure scoring with Tennison pouring in14 points and Lockhart an even 10.
Elkins made six field goals and was 4-of-6 from the charity stripe while Tennison and Lockhart each made five baskets. Three of Tennison's field goals came from beyond the arc to tie for a game-high with Tech's Erik McCree
For the game, the Muleriders shot 47% overall from the floor. Last year, the Muleriders shot over 45% in 18 games and were 15-3 in such contests
SAU out-rebounded the Bulldogs by two, 38-36. Nine players had at least one board with Tony Aska hauling in a team-best seven rebounds. Aska also had a game-high four steals.
The Muleriders also got better production from its bench as they out-scored the Bulldog reserves, 35-22
UP NEXT
The Muleriders will now prepare to open their season in earnest next weekend as they will travel to Lancaster, Texas to take part in one of the sites of the GAC/MIAA/NSIC Crossover Challenge. SAU will have a pair of games that weekend with a Friday evening contest against Nebraska-Kearney and a Saturday affair with Minot State.
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