A second half rally attempt fell just short as Henderson State dropped a 71-64 Great American Conference decision on the road at Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon in Durant, Okla.
At the half, HSU trailed 32-25 after making just 6-of-29 first half attempts in a foul-plagued first period.
The Reddies forced eight first half turnovers from the Savage Storm while committing only five, and also knocked down 11-of-16 free throw attempts.
Henderson State would go on an 8-2 run to pull within four at the 11:42 mark on a
Matt Panaggio jumper in the lane, making the score 46-42 in favor of SOSU.
At the 10:16 mark,
Kaylon Tappin knocked down a layup from the left side to pull the Reddies even closer to within two.
The Reddies then tied the game at 46-46 on an
Aaron Cooper layup with 9:28 remaining.
With 2:18 to play, the Reddies remained within one after Tappin knocked down three straight free throws to make the score 62-61 in favor of Southeastern.
However, the Savage Storm would answer scoring the game's next four points as Tyler Lonzie and Quinton Threadgill knocked down a pair of free throws each.
With 32 seconds remaining,
Kevin Kozan dialed in from long-range to pull HSU within three making the score 67-64.
Henderson would come up with a steal on SOSU's next possession, but failed to score as SOSU regained possession and Anton Cook sealed the game with four straight free throws.
On the day, Tappin led the Reddies with 24 points on 8-of-17 attempts from the field, while Kozan also scored in double figures with 13 points including making 3-of-5 attempts from beyond-the-arc.
Matt Panaggio finished the game one point shy of a double-double, as the sophomore scored nine points and pulled down a team-high 11 boards in the contest.
For Southeastern, the Savage Storm were led by Anton Cook with 21 points, while Tyler Lonzie also pitched in 18 points and 16 boards.
Henderson State will look to bounce back on Thursday night at the Duke Wells Center, as the Reddies take on Southern Arkansas with tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m. in Arkadelphia.
