PITTSBURG, Kan. — Henderson State had the hot hand all night on Wednesday and put four players in double figures to power past Pittsburg State 88-78 in its final contest of the calendar year. The win is the first for the program over an MIAA opponent since 2013-14.

Anthony Lupardus turned in one of his best performances of the season for the Reddies with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, while Chris Parker added 16 points, Raekwon Rogers had 11 and Mike Fofana finished with 10. Ten different players played 10 or more minutes in the win for HSU.

The Reddies (7-3, 2-2) jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead on Wednesday night thanks to two buckets each from Raekwon Rogers and Chris Parker. Leading 20-15 after the Gorillas stemmed the early tide, HSU put together another big run and used 3-pointers from Parker and Tanner Hamilton to power a 12-3 spurt which gave Henderson its largest advantage, 32-18 with 4:32 to play until the break.

Pitt State mustered a response of its own before the half and trimmed the deficit down to 34-28 with a 10-2 run, but the Reddies regained their footing and closed the final two minutes with an 8-5 stretch that gave them a 42-33 lead at halftime. HSU shot a blistering 60.7% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play, while the Gorillas were just 10-for-30 (33.3%) from the field.

PSU scored the first two baskets of the second half to cut the lead back down to six points, 42-36, and got back-to-back 3-pointers minutes later which brought the Gorillas within 55-50 at the 13:04 mark, but they would get no closer. Leading by just five, Henderson went on another big run, this one a 13-4 stretch, which helped the Reddies regain their largest lead 68-54 with under eight minutes remaining. 

Leading 81-69 with two minutes to play, HSU seemed to have the game well in hand, but Pitt State made things interesting in the final minute. The Gorillas used an 8-0 run in the span of 47 seconds to come within 81-77 with 1:04 left— the closest the game had been since the first half — but free throws from Parker and a bucket from Fofana ended the threat for Henderson, as the Reddies pulled away for a big non-conference victory.

Henderson was out-rebounded 41-28 in the win but made up for it by shooting 58.2%; a season-high against NCAA DII opponents. PSU, who trailed for all 40 minutes, shot just 35.9% from the floor and its bench was outscored by the Reddies' 33-18.

HSU returns to the court on Jan. 2, 2020 when it welcomes to Oklahoma Baptist to the Duke Wells Center at 7:30 p.m.