Box Score

Kevin Kozan's 3-point performance and Micah Walker's clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped Henderson State upset Ouachita Baptist 71-67, Thursday in the Duke Wells Center.

After being held scoreless in the second-half with the Reddies trailing 61-55, Kozan began to hit his stride with a 3-point field goal at the 3:52 mark to cut the Henderson deficit to three.

Following a bucket by OBU's Justin McCleary, Walker was sent to the foul line and calmly sunk a pair of free throws to make the score 63-60 with 2:59 to play.

OBU's Colt Fason then missed a pair of free throws with Walker pulling down one of his five rebounds of the game.

Kozan then hit an off-balance jumper from deep in the corner to tie the game. Less than a minute later the sophomore from New Lenox, Ill. sent the Reddie fans into a frenzy with another circus-shot 3-pointer to put Henderson on top 68-65 with 41 seconds left.

OBU failed to score on its next possession as Walker pulled down another rebound with 14 seconds left and was sent to the line for a pair of free throws.

The senior from Jonesboro, Ark. made both free throws which sealed the deal for the Reddies.

Henderson State, 8-8 overall and 5-5 in the GAC, took a 19-10 lead early in the first half with the help of three 3-point field goals by Kozan and a pair of buckets by Kelvin Dixon to begin the game.

The Reddies continued to scorch the nets from long range as Henderson nailed 8-of-11 trifectas in the half.

Henderson State led by as many as 14 points before the Tigers cut the deficit to 37-32 with a 12-foot jumper by Fason with 35 seconds remaining.

Aaron Cooper then provided the home crowd with some excitement busting a 3-point field goal at the buzzer to put Henderson on top 40-32 at the break.

Kozan was 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the half and totaled 12 points to lead the Reddies, while Dixon and Rashad Perkins had 9 points each in the first 20 minutes.

The Reddies would push their lead to 11 points in the second half following another Cooper 3-pointer, but the Tigers rallied furiously going on a 23-5 run to take a 59-52 advantage with 7:24 left in the game.

Henderson State would then outscore the Tigers 19 to 8 the remainder of the game for the win.

Kozan ended the game with 21 points including going 7-for-10 from 3-point range. The seven trifectas in a game was a career-best.

Kelvin Dixon would follow with 16 points, while Walker and Perkins would both finish with 9 points.

Cooper scored 8 points for the Reddies while dishing out five assists.

Henderson State shot 50 percent from the field making 23-of-46 attempts, including 13-of-21 from beyond the arc for 62 percent. The Reddies were also true on 12-of-17 free throws for 71 percent.

The Tigers, 11-4 overall and 7-3 in the GAC shot 48 percent from the floor making 27-of-56 shots.

OBU was led by Tirrell Brown's 25 points, while Fason finished with 18.

Henderson State will hit the road Saturday to face Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Ark. with tipoff set for 3 p.m.