ARKADELPHIA -- The Ouachita men's basketball team closed its home slate with a 75-67 victory over Southern Arkansas to finish the regular season 13-1 inside Bill Vining Arena.

Sophomore Crew Flowers led the Tigers with a game-high 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor, finding enough space around the rim to constantly score through traffic. Ouachita improved to 21-6 overall and 17-4 in Great American Conference play, while Southern Arkansas fell to 10-17 and 7-14 in league action.

Senior point guard PJ Neal broke the ice with an alley-oop to junior Christian Parks just seven seconds into the game, then junior Trey Smith tossed another alley-oop for Parks to slam home. After the Muleriders countered with a pair of threes from the left wing made by junior JaKourion Key and senior Greg Moore Jr., Parks crashed the glass and rose above the rim to tip-in a putback. 

Neal pushed the pace and laid in a fast break layup to level the score at 8-8. Ouachita's senior duo controlled the flow to reclaim the lead after senior Devon Hancock buried a three from the left wing, then Neal laid in a fast break layup. After junior Jaden Webb blew past his defender for a tomahawk slam, Moore answered with consecutive baskets to give the Muleriders a slim one-point lead with four minutes left in the opening half. The Tigers seized the lead after Neal found Flowers wide open for a corner three, then the senior point guard led Hancock ahead for a transition layup. Freshman Jaxon Conley connected on an open three from the right wing as Ouachita carried a 33-29 lead at halftime. 

Parks made his interior presence felt to begin the second half with a putback layup. Southern Arkansas capitalized on consecutive turnovers to take a 39-37 lead, but Parks continued to clean up the boards for another putback layup to level the score. Parks finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to secure his third double-double. The leading shot blocker in the GAC met the Muleriders at the rim for three blocks in the first half, then Parks picked up his fourth block midway through the second half to break Ouachita's single-season record with 66 blocks during his junior campaign. 

The Tigers leaned on their paint presence down the stretch as Neal relentlessly attacked and bulldozed through the Muleriders' defense for tough finishes at the rim, while drawing contact. Ouachita reclaimed the lead after junior Gavin Snyder found Flowers wide open for a three from the right wing, then Conley followed with a fast break slam through the rim. Snyder fired an assist beneath the basket to Flowers to push the lead to six with six minutes left to play. 

Southern Arkansas seniors cut the lead to within one possession twice late after Troy'reon Ramos buried an open three, then Jair Horton laid in a reverse layup to cut the deficit to 69-67. Ouachita answered as Neal drove inside and slipped an assist to Parks for an open layup to extend the lead to four with just one minute left to play. Neal netted 16 points and dished five assists to lead the Tigers to victory in his final home game. 

The Tigers held the Muleriders to just 36% shooting from the floor, while outscoring SAU 22-6 in fast break points. Ouachita leads the nation in 3-point shooting defense (27%), evidenced best in the home finale as Southern Arkansas was restricted to just 23% shooting from beyond the arc. 

Ouachita visits Arkansas-Monticello for the regular season finale on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m.