Box Score BOX SCORE

Henderson State used 50 percent shooting in the second half to rally for an 80-72 victory over East Central Oklahoma in Ada, Okla.

Henderson State, 10-8 overall and 5-7 in the Great American Conference, trailed 36-26 late in the first half before cutting the deficit to 36-31 by halftime as Taylor Smith hit his first of two 3-point field goals while Denzel Lyles added a driving layup before the buzzer sounded.

The Reddies had been plagued with poor shooting for most of January making just 36 percent from the field in the previous seven games. Henderson, however, experienced a solid shooting second half by making 13-of-26 field goals and 23-of-27 free throws.

With ECU leading 52-50 at the 11:24 mark, Henderson went on to outscore the Tigers 17 to 3 over the next five minutes to take a 67-55 lead with 6:21 remaining in the game.

East Central, 6-12 and 3-9, managed to cut into the Reddie lead with a late 10-2 run to make the score 73-70 with 1:03 to play.

The Reddies secured the game at the foul line making seven straight free throws in the final minute, while the defense limited ECU to just two free throws down the stretch.

Andrew Ensley led Henderson with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Lyles totaled 14 points and Melvin Haynes scored 13. Taylor ended the game with a career-high 12 points.    

Gregory Ardister and Colby Carr scored 14 points each to lead ECU.

Henderson State ended the game shooting 44 percent from the floor converting on 25 of 54 shots, while ECU made 28 of 68 attempts for 41 percent.

The Reddies came up big at the charity stripe making 30 of 44 attempts for 68 percent, including shooting 85 percent from the line in the second half. The Tigers were just 9 of 19 from the foul line.

 Henderson State, 5-1 against opponents from the Sooner State, will travel to Durant, Okla. to take on Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday with tipoff set for 4 p.m.