Box Score

Henderson State's late second-half rally fell short as Delta State held off the Reddies 62-60, Tuesday at the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia.

Trailing 56-43 with 4:08 remaining in the game, Henderson State mounted a furious charge outscoring the Statesmen 17-6 with Taylor Smith scoring 13 of his game-high 23 point during the run.

The Reddies, 4-3 on the season, made things interesting during the final 17 seconds.
After Jack Madgan made a pair of free throws to put DSU up 62-57 with 17 seconds left, Smith hit his third 3-point basket of the game with 12 second remaining.

The Reddies then forced a jump ball on Delta's inbound pass, with the possession arrow in Henderson's favor. Smith, who was closely guarded, got a good look at another 3-point field goal attempt but his shot rattled off the rim and DSU's Devin Schmidt was able to come away with the rebound as the buzzer sounded.

The Reddies struggled to start the game converting on just 2-of-16 shots from the field in the first 13 minutes as Delta State built a 17-8 lead.

Henderson State then hit four of its next five shots to tie the score at 17-17 with Ronald Lawson getting things going with a 10-foot jumper.

Smith followed with a follow-up off a Lawson miss then Kevin Kozan got free for a layup to cut the deficit to two.

Smith then tied the score with a put back off a missed free throw by Aaron Harwell.
Delta State outscored the Reddies 9 to 4 the remainder of the half with Schmidt hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Statesmen a 26-21 lead at the break.

Delta State, 6-1 on the season, had three players score in double-figures with Willie Readus leading the way with 19 points, while Madgen followed with 17.

Lawson was the only other Reddie to score in double-figures having 14 points, with Deoirvay Johnson adding 9.

Henderson State won the battle on the boards 43 to 32, with Smith completing the double-double with 10 rebounds. Harwel followed with nine rebounds for the Reddies.

Henderson State ended the game converting on 23-of-59 shots from the field for 39 percent, while Delta State hit on 21-of-56 shots for 38 percent.

The Reddies will next play host to Texas A&M Commerce on Saturday, Nov. 30 with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at the Duke Wells Center.