Box Score
Henderson State made a big step closer to earning a spot in the Great American Conference Tournament as the Reddies beat Southern Nazarene 83-68, Thursday at the Duke Wells Center.

Five Reddies scored in double-figures led by Micah Walker's 17 points, with Kerrell Davis and Reggie Murphy having 16 points each.  Kelvin Dixon finished with 14 points and Kevin Kozan chipped in with 12.

Henderson State, 10-12 overall and 7-9 in the GAC, built a 39-29 halftime lead with the use of a balanced scoring attack led by Murphy's 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Davis was the spark for the Reddies with 8 points while dishing out a pair of assists.

The big push in the half came with the score tied at 22-22 as Kozan busted a 3-point field goal to start an 11-0 run.

Davis got an easy layup, followed by a dunk and four straight free throws by Murphy as the Reddies went on top 33-22.

Henderson State led by double-figures for most of the second half until Southern Nazarene put together a run of its own cutting the deficit to 72-68 with 2:51 remaining on a 3-point field goal by Francisco Hukill.

The Reddies, however, would score the final 11 points of the game with Walker starting things with a layup, followed by a Dixon put-back and three straight free throws.

The Reddies finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field sinking 26-of-52 shots, while Southern Nazarene hit on 24-of-59 shots for 41 percent shooting.

Henderson State outrebounded the Crimson Storm 37 to 31 with Murphy turning in his sixth double-double performance of the season having 12 boards.

Henderson also totaled a season-best 20 assists with Davis having five and Ryan Yeates dishing out four.

Another big plus for the Reddies was the shooting at the foul line as they hit on 22-of-27 freebies for 82 percent. Southern Nazarene, 12-10 and 8-8, made a respectable 13-of-18 for 72 percent.

Henderson State will return to action on Saturday when the Reddies play host to Northwestern Oklahoma with tipoff set for the Duke Wells Center at 3 p.m.