SHAWNEE, OK. - Chris Hawkins scored a career-high 27 points and added nine rebounds to help pace Henderson State past Oklahoma Baptist 84-75 on Thursday night in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Henderson got off to a quick start, with Hawkins scoring nine of the Reddies' first 11 points, as the Reddies jumped out to an 11-6 lead. The Bison answered, however, and used an 18-6 run over the next several minutes to seize a 24-17 lead with 9:18 left in the first half. HSU gradually chipped into the lead and eventually cut it to 36-35 going into halftime. 

The Reddies came out strong in the second half and used a 10-2 run to grab a 45-38 lead with 17:17 left in the second, but the lead did not last long, as OKBU ripped off a 9-0 run of their own to retake a 47-45 advantage with 14:36 to play. From there, the two teams battled over the next eight minutes, with the lead changing hands three times. With HSU up 61-58 and 6:54 to play, the Reddies went on a quick 7-1 spurt over the next minute, with baskets from Ben Marello and Eric Dailey and a 3-pointer from Kaylon Tappin, to seize their largest lead of the game, 68-59, with 5:40 remaining. OKBU tried to answer, but could never get the lead to under seven points again, as the Reddies made their free throws down the stretch and pulled away for an 84-75 win.

Hawkins was a force for Henderson all night, finishing with a career-high 27 points, while HSU also got strong performances from Marello, who had 18, Kevin Kozan who chipped in 13, and Tappin, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. As a team, the Reddies shot 48.3 percent from the floor and held OKBU to just 3-of-16 shooting from the 3-point line. Henderson also forced 14 Bison turnovers while only turning it over 10 times themselves. The Reddies are undefeated this season when scoring more than 80 points in a game.

The victory snaps a four-game Great American Conference skid for HSU and raises them to 7-5 in GAC play on the year, surpassing their conference win total of six from 2015-16. The win is also Henderson's first ever victory against the Bison in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Henderson's next game is Saturday at 3 p.m. against Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Oklahoma.