MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Henderson State battled on Thursday night against Southern Arkansas but shot just 36.9 percent from the field for the night and could not slow down the Muleriders in the second half, as SAU pulled away for a 79-68 win.

Henderson (13-14, 8-13) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead but it did not last long and the Reddies ultimately trailed 37-28 at the half, due in part to SAU's offensive rebounding. The Muleriders grabbed 15 offensive boards in the opening 20 minutes, which led to 22 of their points at the break coming on second-chance opportunities.

SAU (14-13, 10-11) extended its lead out to 46-32 at the 17:24 mark of the second half and held onto the lead for the majority of the period, as the Reddies fought but struggled to get the lead within single digits. With just under five minutes to go, Henderson made its biggest push of the night and used eight-straight points — five of which came from Josh Jones — to trim the deficit down to 68-61 with 4:43 to play in the game. The Reddies' momentum was short-lived however, as SAU got back-to-back buckets to stem the tide. Although the Reddies scrapped, the Muleriders were able to keep them at arms length for the remainder of the game, as they salted the clock away for the win.

Chris Parker led Henderson with 22 points and four rebounds, while Kaylon Tappin had 14 and Jones added 11 with four boards. The Reddies forced 14 SAU turnovers on the night, but were out-rebounded 47-35, out-scored on second-chance points 25-14 and allowed the Muleriders to shoot 57.7 percent in the second half in defeat. The loss eliminates Henderson from contention for the Great American Conference Tournament.

The Reddies final game of the season comes on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when they face off with Harding in Searcy, Arkansas.