Henderson State will take on Arkansas-Monticello in the opening round of the Great American Conference Basketball Tournament on Thursday with the first tip set for Noon in Bartlesville, Okla.    
 
The Reddies are the 6th seed entering the tournament, having a 12-16 overall record and an 8-12 record in league play.         


Arkansas-Monticello is the No. 3 seed having compiled a 19-9 regular-season record and a GAC mark of 12-8.
 
Henderson State and Arkansas-Monticello played a pair of games during the regular-season that came down to the wire with UAM winning both games, 66-65 in Arkadelphia, and a 75-72 overtime win in Monticello.    

Reggie Murphy averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two games against UAM. Murphy Scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds in the loss in Arkadelphia. The junior from Los Angeles was 10-for-10 from the field in that game on Dec. 5.
 
Brandon Wilson led UAM in the two games averaging 16.0 points including a 19-point performance in Monticello.

Henderson State leads the all-time series having a 90-60 record. The Boll Weevils have won the last four straight.


Henderson State snapped a three-game losing streak on the final day of the regular season as the Reddies beat Southern Arkansas 59-43 in Magnolia.
 
The Reddies enter the tournament having lost five of its last seven games including two games in overtime.

Deoirvay Johnson leads Henderson State in scoring averaging 12.6 points per game including shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc. The senior from Fort Worth, Texas is shooting 47 percent from the field and has converted on 35-of-46 free throws for 76 percent.
 
Taylor Smith is averaging 11.8 points per game and leads the GAC in 3-point shooting hitting on 47 percent of his attempts (45-of-96). In the last 10 games, Smith is averaging 13.5 points per contest including a 21-point performance against Southwestern Oklahoma. The junior from Kensett, Ark. has scored in double-figures in nine of the last 10 games.

Melvin Haynes averages 11.0 points per contest and leads the team in free throw shooting converting on 83 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Haynes' numbers are down as of late as the senior from Akron, Ohio is averaging just 7.8 points per game in the last 10 outings. However, he has scored in double-figures in three of the last four games.
 
Also averaging double-figures is Reggie Murphy at 10.6 points per game. Murphy is shooting a team-best 65 percent from the field while averaging 5.8 rebounds per game.
Murphy scored a career-high 22 points in the first game against Arkansas-Monticello.   


Henderson State will be competing in its 13th conference tournament since becoming a NCAA Division II institution in 1993-94.
 
In 20 years as part of the NCAA, the Reddies have advanced to six semi-final games, five championship games, and have won four conference tournament championships.
 
All four titles came when Henderson State was a part of the Gulf South Conference. The Reddies claimed three straight titles winning in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Henderson's last tournament championship was in 2003.
 
Henderson State's overall conference tournament record is 15-8, including a 0-2 record in the Great American Conference Tournament.
 
The entire Great American Conference Basketball Tournament can be seen via the internet and the GAC Sports Network at www.gacsportsnetwork.com.