The Henderson State men's basketball team fell 90-53 at nationally ranked Wichita State on Saturday evening in exhibition play.
 
The Shockers, ranked seventh nationally in Division I, proved to be too much as WSU stormed out to a 17-3 lead over the first five minutes of the contest, knocking down all first nine attempts from the field and taking a 58-27 lead into the halftime break.
 
Kaylon Tappin would provide a spark for the Reddies to get things going, scoring the first five points of the game for Henderson State on three free-throws and a jumper.
 
With 7:49 remaining in the first half, Josh Jones would get the Reddies into double-digits with a three-pointer in transition, narrowing the Wichita lead to 39-12.
 
Jones, a Memphis, Tenn. native, would then go on to score seven more points over the next four minutes, pulling the score to 45-21 at the 3:53 mark of the first half and would eventually lead all Reddie first-half scorers with 12 points.
 
HSU would shorten the WSU lead to 59-29 early in the second half on a pair of free throws from Tappin, but would pull no closer for the remainder of the contest as it saw shooting struggles from the field, making just 7-of-26 attempts in the second half.
 
The Reddies finished the contest making 17-of-58 attempts from the field for 29 percent, while the Shockers were 35-of-60 for 58 percent shooting.
 
HSU forced 18 Shocker turnovers on the night while committing just 15, and also knocked down 16-of-21 attempts from the charity stripe as a team for 76 percent.
 
Jones and Chris Parker led the way for HSU on the night, finishing with 12 points each as Jones sunk 2-of-4 attempts from beyond-the-arc, while Parker knocked down a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
 
Tappin also provided nine points for the Reddies, while Brad Nairn pitched in eight.
 
Henderson State will return to action in its first regular season game at the GAC/Northern Sun Showdown in Lancaster, Texas on Friday with a matchup against Minnesota State University Moorehead scheduled for 3 p.m. followed by a Saturday showdown against Minot State beginning at 2 p.m.