MAGNOLIA -- Henderson State was officially eliminated from contention for the Great American Conference Tournament with a 79-68 loss Thursday to Southern Arkansas.
Henderson (13-14, 8-13) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead but it did not last long and the Reddies ultimately trailed 37-28 at the half, due in part to Southern Arkansas' offensive rebounding. The Muleriders grabbed 15 offensive boards in the opening 20 minutes, which led to 22 of their points at the break coming on second-chance opportunities.
Southern Arkansas (14-13, 10-11) extended its lead out to 46-32 at the 17:24 mark of the second half and held onto the lead for the majority of the period. The Reddies fought but struggled to get the lead within single digits.
With just under five minutes to go, Henderson made its biggest push of the night and used eight-straight points -- five of which came from Josh Jones, a junior guard from Memphis, Tenn. -- to trim the deficit down to 68-61 with 4:43 to play in the game.
The Reddies' momentum was short-lived as Southern Arkansas got back-to-back buckets to stem the tide. The Muleriders were able to keep them at arms length for the remainder of the game, as they salted the clock away for the win.
Henderson shot just 36.9 percent from the field. The Reddies forced 14 turnovers, but were outrebounded, 47-35, outscored on second-chance points, 25-14, and allowed the Muleriders to shoot 57.7 percent in the second half.
The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the GAC Tournament next week in Bartlesville, Okla. Henderson trails Ouachita Baptist (12-14, 10-11) by two games with one game remaining in the regular season.
Freshman guard Chris Parker, of Plano, Texas, led Henderson with 22 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Kaylon Tappin, of Little Rock Hall, had 14 points. The transfer from Arkansas State University Mid-South in West Memphis will play his final game for the Reddies today at 7:30 p.m. in Searcy against Harding (5-21, 5-16). Jones, a transfer from Richmond, finished with 11 points and four boards.
Sports on 02/24/2018