The second rotation of the Great American Conference schedule begins Thursday as Henderson State plays host to Southern Nazarene with opening tip set for 7:30 p.m. at the Duke Wells Center.
Henderson finished the first part of the GAC schedule with a 3-8 conference record with seven of those contests on the road.
The Reddies are coming off a 76-54 loss at Harding in a game that saw Henderson shoot just 37 percent from the field while making a season low 4-of-21 from 3-point range.
Kaylon Tappin led the team with 16 points while pulling down four rebounds. Tappin is averaging 13.8 points per contest including an average of 17.4 points per game in the last five games.
Kevin Kozan was held to a season low three points against Harding, but still leads the team averaging 14.3 points per contest. Kozan, however, averages 19.5 points in games played in the Duke Wells Center which includes shooting 50 percent in 3-point field goals making 21-of-42 attempts.
Tavian Pomlee was limited to 8 points against the Bisons and is now averaging 10.6 points along with 4.9 rebounds per game.
Southern Nazarene is coming off back-to-back losses to East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma and enters the game with a 7-10 record overall and a 6-5 mark in league play.
SNU is third in the GAC in scoring offense averaging 79.4 points per contest, but ranks last in scoring defense allowing 82.6 points per game.
The Crimson Storm is led by CJ Rodriguez who is scoring 18.3 points per game which ranks third in the GAC. The senior from Killeen, Texas shoots 46 percent from 3-point range and leads the team making 54-of-117 long range jumpers.
LB Willis follows averaging 15.5 points which includes converting on 24-of-54 trifectas for 44 percent. Willis scored 23 points in the first game against the Reddies.
Deshon Portley also averages in double-figures with 10.2 points.
Henderson leads the all-time series with the Crimson Storm having a 7-6 advantage in a series which dates back to 1976. Henderson won both meetings last year. The Reddies are 3-1 in games played at home.
Earlier this season, SNU beat the Reddies 83-70 on the road in Bethany, Okla.
SNU jumped out to a quick 29-10 lead behind some hot shooting as the Crimson Storm hit 11 of their first 16 shots, while the Reddies converted on just four of 16 attempts.
The Reddies would get as close as 11 points in the opening half before Southern Nazarene pushed its lead back to 14 points at the break, 47-33.
In the second-half, SNU led 60-47 with 12:01 left in the game before the Reddies put together a furious comeback as Henderson went on a 13-5 run to cut the deficit to 65-60.
Tavian Pomlee sparked the Reddies scoring six points during the run with
Ben Marello hitting a 3-point field goal to make it a five point game.
SNU would push its lead back to double-digits as LB Willis scored the next six points for the Crimson Storm. The Crimson Storm would make eight straight free throws down the stretch to pull away in the end.
Pomlee led the way for the Reddies scoring 17 points while pulling down six rebounds, while Marello, Zydrunas Jugurtis and
Kevin Kozan scored 11 points each.
Willis did most of the damage for the Crimson Storm, as he canned 9-of-14 field goals, scoring 23 points.
HSU finished the game shooting 41 percent from field making 24-of-58 from the floor. SNU countered hitting 28-of-58 attempts for 48 percent shooting.
Thursday's double-header will be carried on 106.9 FM KYXK Arkadelphia/Gurdon with R.J. Hawk (@RJHawk) providing the play-by-play. Color commentary for the women's game provided by Athletics Media Relations Assistant
Hunter Lively (@HLively). Former Reddie player and coach Grady Bean will provide the color commentary for the men's game.
The Domino's pregame show will air 5:15 p.m. with the women's game set for 5:30 p.m.
Live stats, audio and video streaming will also be available via the HSU Athletics website at
www.hsusports.com
