Henderson State will attempt to clinch a spot in the Great American Conference Tournament next week as the Reddies travel to Alva, Okla. to face Northwestern Oklahoma on Thursday with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.
A win over the Rangers would secure a spot in the tournament for the first time since the 2013-14 season when Henderson advanced to the title game.
Henderson, 14-12 overall and a 9-11 in the GAC, is in eighth-place in the league standings, one game behind OBU and Southern Arkansas.
Kevin Kozan has been putting up some impressive numbers as his career draws to a close. The senior from New Lenox, Ill. scored a career-high 25 points against Harding and followed with 23 points against Arkansas Tech last week. Kozan averaged 18.7 points in the three games last week. Kozan scored 11 points in the first game against NWOSU.
Chris Hawkins also played well last week averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds last week. Hawkins was 23-of-32 from the field and 8-fo-10 from the foul line in the three games.
Kaylon Tappin leads Henderson averaging 14.8 points per game which includes a career-high performance of 32 points in the first game against the Rangers where he made 17-of-18 free throws. The junior from Little Rock is averaging 16.0 points in the last three games.
Northwestern Oklahoma still has a mathematical chance of earning a trip to Bartlesville, but the Rangers must win both games this week and hope for some help.
NWOSU is 11-14 on the season and 7-13 in GAC play after losing the last three games.
The Rangers average 74.5 points and allows 74.2 points per contest. The team ranks 11th in defensive rebounds (23.8) just ahead of the Reddies (22.8).
Adrian Motley is one of the premier players in the GAC averaging 19.5 points per contest which ranks second in the GAC. The senior from Humble, Texas is also a force on the boards pulling down 7.8 caroms per game which is third in the league. Motley has scored in double-figures in every game this season, scoring 20 or more points 15 times including the last four games. Earlier this year, he scored a season best 27 points, going 10-for-23 from the field against the Reddies.
Cody Halvorson is the Rangers' big 3-point shooter having made 67-of-162 attempts for 41.4 percent from beyond the arc. The junior from Temple, Texas averages 10.6 points per game and shoots 89 percent from the foul line hitting 25-of-28 attempts. Halvorson knocked down a season-best eight 3-point field goals against Southern Arkansas. He scored 15 points, going 3-for-11 from the 3-point line in the first game against Henderson.
Northwestern Oklahoma leads the all-time series with a 5-4 advantage. Henderson has won the last two contests including an 80-77 victory earlier this year in Arkadelphia. The Reddies are 1-3 in games played in Alva.
Thursday's double-header will be carried on 106.9 FM KYXK Arkadelphia/Gurdon with
Hunter Lively and
David Salley calling the action.
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.
