ARKADELPHIA -- Rel Johnson scored a career-high 26 points and Mike Fofana added 20 of his own -- 15 of which came in the second half -- to help Henderson State hold off Arkansas Tech, 84-80, on Saturday afternoon at the Duke Wells Center.
Johnson finished 10 of 16 from the field for the Reddies (12-5, 7-4 Great American Conference). Fofana was held to just five points in the first 20 minutes of play, but exploded in the second half to finish with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Joshua Jones also had his best game of the year for Henderson and chipped in 16 points.
Henderson trailed, 40-39, at the halftime break in what was a tight game throughout before using a 15-7 run to open the second half and take its largest lead, 54-47, at the 15-minute mark. Arkansas Tech (4-12, 2-8) responded and used 11 points from guard Alex Brown in a span of two minutes to rip off a 13-2 run, which gave the Wonder Boys a 60-56 lead.
A bucket from Anthony Lupardus and five straight points from Johnson spurred a 7-0 run to give Henderson the lead. The Reddies took an 80-76 advantage with 4:07 remaining and never trailed again.
Henderson outrebounded Arkansas Tech, 45-31, and had 19 second-chance points to just four for the Wonder Boys. The win gives Henderson its fourth straight conference victory for the first time since 2012 and sole possession of fourth place in the GAC standings.
The Reddies will returns to action on Thursday when they travels to Ada, Okla., to face East Central (9-6, 6-4) at 7:30 p.m.
Reddie women complete 1st season sweep of Golden Suns since 2005-06
ARKADELPHIA -- Pink Jones scored seven of her 17 points in the final four minutes and Karrington Whaley finished with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds as Henderson State's women's basketball team defeated Arkansas Tech, 66-55, on Saturday to sweep the season series with the Golden Suns for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
Five Henderson players scored in double-figures and the Reddies (13-4, 8-3 Great American Conference) held the Golden Suns (6-10, 3-7) to just 32.8-percent shooting from the floor.
Brittany Branum, Blu Jones, and Hailey Estes combined to score 31 points, as Estes collected a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Estes' 11 boards moved her into sixth place all-time in rebounding at Henderson State.
Henderson is next scheduled to play on Thursday in Ada, Okla., against East Central (12-4, 7-3) at 5:30 p.m.
Blossoms win big at OBU
ARKADELPHIA -- Hot Springs alum Berniezha had a double-double on Saturday as Arkansas-Monticello cruised to an 84-54 win against Ouachita Baptist at Bill Vining Arena.
Tidwell played 33 minutes, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She finished 6-for-13 shooting.
MacKenzie Johnson led the Cotton Blossoms (5-10, 4-6 Great American Conference) in points in the first half with 12. They scored 30 points in the first half, made eight steals and scored 11 points off of turnovers for a 43-28 halftime lead.
Jaida Harden finished with 22 points to lead all scorers. Johnson had 20 points and six rebounds.
Eden Crow led Ouachita (5-11, 3-7) with 11 points and nine rebounds. Madison Brittain added 13 points and three steals, while Malvern's Alivia Huell had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Ouachita is scheduled for a road game on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Durant, Okla., against Southeastern Oklahoma State (9-6, 7-4). Monticello is scheduled to play at the same time in Bethany, Okla., against Southern Nazarene (7-9, 6-4).
Tigers take win from UAM
ARKADELPHIA -- Ouachita Baptist forward Grant Jones was 7-for-9 from the field Saturday and 6-for-6 at the free throw line to lead the Tigers to a 79-66 home victory against Arkansas-Monticello inside Bill Vining Arena.
Ouachita (7-7, 4-6 Great American Conference) scored 21 points in the first half off of turnovers by Monticello (10-6, 6-4). The Tigers took a 44-26 lead into halftime.
Jones finished with a team-leading 22 points and six rebounds. Kendarious Smith added 15 points and Raymond Harris scored 11 points.
Kwame McBean led the Boll Weevils with 22 points and four rebounds.
Ouachita's next game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Durant, Okla., against Southeastern Oklahoma State (10-5, 6-5).
Lampo scores career-high 30
to Lead Harding over SAU
MAGNOLIA -- Harding sophomore forward Kellie Lampo scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Lady Bisons to a 66-46 victory over Southern Arkansas Saturday in Great American Conference play at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
Harding (11-5, 6-4) defeated Southern Arkansas (2-14, 1-9) for the eighth time in the last nine meetings. The Muleriders lost their seventh straight home game.
The Jessieville grad's previous career high was 29 points against Cameron earlier this season. Lampo made 9 of 14 from the field and 12 of 13 from the free throw line. Cheyenne Brown added 14 points for the Lady Bisons.
Harding limited Southern Arkansas to only five field goals and 25 percent, 5 of 20, from the floor in the first half to lead, 33-12. The Lady Bisons held the Muleriders to five points in the first quarter and led, 13-5, after one.
Lampo had 15 points by halftime, going 5 of 8 from the field and 5-for-5 on free throws. Harding outscored Southern Arkansas, 20-7, in the second quarter.
Harding scored 28 of its 33 first-half points in the paint and had 44 in the lane for the game. The Lady Bisons outscored the Muleriders, 22-2, off turnovers.
Alyssa Crase led Southern Arkansas with 14 points and nine rebounds. Former Watson Chapel forward Jerica Bell and Lena Maledon each scored eight points. Hot Springs alum Ariana Guinn missed her fifth game of the season.
Saturday's game was the first of three straight on the road for the Lady Bisons. Harding will travel to Alva, Okla., on Thursday to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State (6-11, 3-7).
Southern Arkansas is scheduled to take on Oklahoma Baptist (7-9, 3-7) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla.
Harris, Bossier Parish
rallies against Paris
BOSSIER CITY, LA. -- Bossier Parish Community College trailed for 31 minutes of Saturday's game against Paris Junior College, but the Cavaliers were able to overcome sloppy play in the second half for an 81-77 win over the Dragons.
Both teams are in Division I of Region 14 of the National Junior College Association. They are members of the region's East Zone Division.
Paris (9-9, 1-7) played with just four players on the court in the final minutes of the contest.
The Cavaliers (15-3, 5-3) trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and trailed the Dragons, 45-40, at the break. It took 11 minutes of the second half before Bossier Parish would take its first lead on a Mikail Simmons layup off a feed from sophomore forward Paris Harris, of Hot Springs.
Nevada signee Eric Parrish led four Cavaliers in double figures with 31 points. He also had 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.
The Dragons also had three players in double figures. Jalon Pipkins tied for the game high with 31 points.
Bossier Parish is scheduled to play on 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Kilgore, Texas, against fellow East Zone foe Kilgore College (13-6, 4-4).
HSU swimmers dominate
home meet with Eagles
ARKADELPHIA -- The Henderson State swim teams celebrated senior day Saturday with a dual meet victory over the University of the Ozarks Eagles.
The women raced by the Eagles, 135-66, and the men took care of business, 135-50.
In the first event of the day, the women took the top two spots on the podium in the 200-yard medley relay. The foursome of Camryn Jenkins, Savannah Martin, Lauren Glenn and Mikayla Wood finished first with a time of 1:56.46. The squad made up of Eleonora Unanova, Elam Fulton, Taylor Viator, and Jordan Adkins took second in a time of 1:57.12.
In the last women's event of the afternoon, Jordan Adkins, Elam Fulton, Aubry Owen, and Caroline Beattie teamed up to win the 200-yard freestyle in 1:45.97.
Individual winners for the women's squad included Martin in the 200-yard freestyle, 2:07.20; Wood in the 50-yard freestyle, 25.81; Caroline Beattie in the 200-yard medley, 2:24.77; Ceci Magnani in the 100-yard butterfly, 1:05.19; and Lara Kockaya in the 500-yard freestyle, 5:59.10. Unanova won the 100-yard freestyle in 55.77 and the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.28.
The men followed up with a first place finish in the same event, as the team of Payton Jones, Bogdan Pochynok, Tom Nguyen, and Marshal Leach clocked a time of 1:41.08 for the top spot.
First-place finishes for the men's team included Ben East in the 1,000-yard freestyle, 10:25.58; Zach Hansen in the 200-yard medley, 2:03.44; Pochynok in the 100-yard freestyle, 49.14; Nguyen in the 100-yard backstroke, 56.40; Stephen Jones in the 500-yard freestyle, 4:59.41; and Garrett Sullivan in the 100-yard breaststroke, 1:06.42.
Caleb Murders won two events, taking the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle, 21.15, and 100-yard butterfly, 53.27.
Henderson's teams will next compete in the swimming edition of the Battle of the Ravine on Friday at 6 p.m. at Ouachita Baptist.
Sports on 01/21/2019