Box Score

After falling behind 29-24 at half, the Henderson State men's basketball team stormed back to beat Arkansas Tech 69-63 in a Great American Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Duke Wells Center.

The Reddies picked up their first win over the Wonder Boys in the last seven meetings between the two schools.

Henderson State, now 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the GAC,  shot just 31 percent from the field in the first period, but guards Kevin Kozan and Aaron Cooper combined for 24 second half points, as the Reddies shot a blistering 54 percent from the field in the second half.

The Reddies trailed 32-30 four minutes into the second period, but Kozan dialed in from long range at the 16 minute mark, and the Reddies never trailed during the remainder of the game.

An Aaron Cooper three-point basket on HSU's next possession pushed the Reddie lead out to four, and gave Henderson State the momentum shift, as the Reddies turned up their defensive pressure.

With 8:20 remaining, Kelvin Dixon's layup put HSU up 50-41, and Kerrell Davis stole the following inbounds pass from Arkansas Tech, making a layup to extend the lead even further to 52-41.

Arkansas Tech, notorious for their trapping 2-3 zone pressure, tried to extend their full court press late in the game, but Reddie guards Charles Wesley, Ryan Yeates, and Kerrell Davis did a great job taking care of the basketball down the stretch, as the Reddies committed just 14 turnovers while forcing 21 by ATU.

Cooper led the way for Henderson State with 18 points(14 in the second half), as he knocked down three trifectas and 7-of-8 free throw attempts.

Kozan had 16 points, going 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-8 from 3-point range.

While the Reddie guards did their part, the big men also stuffed the stat sheet.

Kelvin Dixon contributed to the balanced HSU attack with 14 points, and also hauled in eight rebounds.

Reggie Murphy followed up his double-double performance on Thursday with another big game, scoring 10 points and ripping down seven boards.

The Wonder Boys(4-5, 0-2 GAC) were led in scoring by D.J. Jethroe with 17 points, while Mike Balogun scored 15.

Henderson State connected on 18-of-23 free throws, including going 8-for-8 from the stripe in the final minute.

The Reddies will host Champions Baptist on Tuesday in a non-conference contest, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.