Henderson State could not overcome a slow start, as the Reddies fell 76-54 at Harding in Great American Conference action on Saturday night in Searcy.

Harding(9-6, 8-2 GAC) got off to a hot start, as the Bisons scored the first 10 points of the game to take a 10-0 lead before HSU would get on the board on a Kaylon Tappin layup three minutes into the contest.

HSU(4-12, 3-8 GAC) would fall behind 42-21 at the halftime break, as Harding connected on 17-of-32 shot attempts for 53 percent, limited the Reddies to 8-of-28 for 29 percent and dished out 13 assists in the opening period.

Tappin led all first half scorers for HSU with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.

The Reddies started the second half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 42-28, and trailed 47-32 heading into the first media timeout of the second-half.

HSU would pull to within 10 at the 4:45 mark on a pair of Tappin free throws to make the score 61-51.

The Reddies would get no closer, however, as Harding's Jacob Gipson knocked down back-to-back three-pointers on the next two possessions to push the Bisons lead back out to 16.

Tappin led all HSU scorers on the night with 16 points on 5-of-12 field goal attempts, and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Tavian Pomlee, Matt Panaggio, and Zydrunas Jurgutis all pitched in eight points apiece for HSU as well in the contest.

The Reddies finished the contest shooting 37 percent on 19-of-52 attempts, while Harding was 28-of-63 for 44 percent.

HSU struggled from the three-point line, making just 4-of-21 attempts, while Harding connected on 10-of-26 attempts.

Harding would out-rebound HSU 37-to-30, while HSU would get 28 points from its bench to just 11 for Harding.

The Reddies return home to start the second half of the conference season on Thursday to take on Southern Nazarene, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Duke Wells Center.