Box Score After scoring just 19 first half points, the Henderson State men's basketball team came up just short, falling 68-67 in a Great American Conference contest at Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon in Bethany, Okla.
Henderson State took an early 3-0 lead after an emphatic
Rashad Perkins block on the defensive end, as
Kevin Kozan dialed in from long-range on the left wing.
The Reddies would trail 32-19 heading into intermission, after falling behind early as the opening half progressed, shooting just 7-of-22 from the field for 32 percent and committing 10 turnovers.
Kevin Kozan led the first half scoring attack for Henderson with 8 points.
HSU, 7-7 overall and 4-4 in the Great American Conference, opened the second half on an 11-0 run to narrow the NWOSU lead to 32-30 as the Reddies scored on back-to-back possessions, with Perkins hammering home a dunk and
Micah Walker nailing a jumper at the 16:49 mark.
Back-to-back Kozan three-pointers pushed the Reddie lead out to 40-36 with 12:26 remaining, but NWOSU went on a 9-0 run late in the second half to reclaim a 56-51 lead with just over 3 minutes to play.
The Reddies could not climb any closer, however, as the Rangers maintained a 5-to-10 point cushion over the next two minutes.
A Walker layup at the 1:04 mark pulled the Reddies within three, as they trailed 63-60.
After the teams traded free throws, the score was 65-62 in favor of NWOSU.
The Reddies had a chance to tie on their next possession, but an
Aaron Cooper 3-point attempt from the top of the key fell just short, as NWOSU grabbed the board and was able to connect from the line to close out the game.
HSU had three players in double-digit scoring, as Kozan led the way with 19 points on 7-of-16 attempts including 4-of-9 from beyond-the-arc.
Aaron Cooper pitched in 18 points on 6-of-10 attempts from the field, and also pulled down 6 boards, while
Micah Walker scored 11 points and hauled in 6 rebounds.
The Reddies made 24-of-58 attempts from the field for a 41 percent shooting average, while the Rangers made 20-of-49 attempts for 40 percent, but made 22-of-33 attempts from the free throw line to just 11-of-19 for Henderson State.
Joseph Gray led all Northwestern Oklahoma players with 18 points, and had 6 rebounds.
Henderson State will look to bounce back on Thursday night, as the team returns home for a Great American Conference matchup against Southwestern Oklahoma State at Wells Gymnasium. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
