A strong second half surge fell just short as the Henderson State men's basketball team fell at Southern Arkansas on Thursday night 79-71 in Great American Conference action.

Henderson State(3-9, 2-5 GAC) would trail at the break by a score of 50-34 as the Muleriders shot a blistering 69 percent from the field knocking down 20-of-29 attempts.

At the break, Pomlee and Tappin led HSU with 9 points each, as HSU knocked down 13-of-29 first half attempts for 45 percent shooting.

The Reddies would storm back on a 13-0 run to begin the second half, as Matt Panaggio drove inside for a layup to cut the SAU(7-6, 4-3 GAC) lead to 50-47 with just over 14 minutes remaining.

Henderson State would then close the gap even more on a Kaylon Tappin layup with 8:29 remaining, making the score 58-57 in favor of SAU.

At the 5:15 mark, a Tappin layup in transition gave HSU its first lead of the second half, making the score 65-64.

SAU put together a 6-2 run over the next two minutes.

With just under two minutes remaining, HSU would trail 75-71 as Pomlee nailed a three-pointer to pull the Reddies within four with 1:30 left.

However, HSU could not pull any closer down the stretch as the Muleriders came away with the victory after sealing the game with free throws in the final minute.

Henderson State finished the  contest shooting 44 percent on 27-of-61 attempts from the field, while SAU made 29-of-55 attempts for 53 percent.

Tappin led the way for HSU on the night with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.

Kevin Kozan also pitched in 13 points on 6-of-9 attempts, while Pomlee had 12 to go along with six reobunds.

Panaggio also contributed 11 points to round out the double-digit scorers for HSU.

The Reddies out-rebounded the Muleriders 37-36, but committed 16 turnovers and only dished out seven assists as a team.

The Reddies return to GAC action on Saturday, as they travel to Arkansas-Monticello to take on the Boll Weevils with tipoff set for 4 p.m., immediately following the women's game.