MAGNOLIA, Arkansas – A cold start proved to be the difference for the Ouachita men's basketball team as the Tigers dropped their GAC contest against Southern Arkansas 78-68 Saturday afternoon.
Ouachita (2-6, 0-3 GAC) scored first on a jumper from
Terran Williams, but Southern Arkansas (4-4, 2-1 GAC) answered with a 13-0 run over the next four minutes. The Muleriders pushed their lead out to 18 points in the first half. The Tigers cut the deficit to 11 at the 1:24 mark and went into halftime down by 14 with the score of 40-26.
The second half saw the Tigers come out and cut SAU's lead to single digits after six minutes of play. Ouachita cut the deficit to just five points with 10 minutes remaining in the game, but this would be the closest score of the half. The Tigers outscored the Muleriders 42-38 in the second half, but the early deficit was too much to overcome, and Ouachita fell by the score of 78-68.
Four Tigers reached the double-digit mark in scoring,
Tylar Haynes leading the way with a season-high 20 points on 7-13 shooting while going 6-7 at the free-throw line.
Emorie Knox followed with 13 points while also leading in assists with five.
MJ Leslie was next with 12 points and
Terran Williams scored 11 points to round out the Tigers in double figures.
Reggie Martin grabbed six rebounds to lead the team.
The Tigers will look to bounce back next weekend as they host the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils at Bill Vining Arena on Saturday, December 16.
