ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State will look to start 3-0 in Great American Conference play for the first time ever on Saturday when the Reddies travel to Searcy, Arkansas to face Harding at 7:30 p.m. in their first true road game of 2019-20.
REDDIES REPORT
- The Reddies have never opened the conference season 3-0 since the inception of the GAC in 2011. Henderson started 2-0 on four separate occasions in 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17 and now in 2019-20.
- HSU is off to its best start since 2012-13 when it also opened 6-1. The Reddies have not been 7-1 to begin a season since 2003-04 when they finished as the Gulf South West Division champions and were a NCAA South Regional semifinalist.
- The defense has been the story so far this season for the Reddies, who lead the GAC in both scoring defense (65 points per game allowed) and field goal percentage defense (36.9% shooting for opponents). HSU is currently the only school in the league holding its opponents to a field goal percentage of under 40%. Henderson also leads the conference in blocked shots (4.4 per game) and steals (10.3 per game).
- In addition to its terrific defense, Henderson is averaging 85.4 points per game in its own right, which ranks fourth in the league. The strong play on both ends of the court has translated into several comfortable wins for the Reddies early in the year. HSU leads the GAC with a scoring margin of plus 20.4 points per game. The figure is even more impressive in conference contests, as Henderson has beaten its two league opponents, Southern Arkansas and Arkansas Tech, by a combined 53 points.
- Chris Parker has been the catalyst for the Reddies to begin the year and leads the team in scoring with an average of 18.6 points per game. He has scored 14 or more in every contest and is shooting a blistering 48.8% from 3-point line this season. Parker had a season-high 26 points in Henderson's 97-61 win over Arkansas Tech.
SCOUTING HARDING
- Harding comes into Saturday's game 5-3 on the year but 0-2 in GAC play after dropping contests to Southern Arkansas and UAM to open conference action. The Bisons are led by head coach Jeff Morgan who is the longest tenured coach in the state of Arkansas and is in his 27th year leading the program in Searcy.
- The Bisons' top offensive weapon this year has been transfer guard Romio Harvey, who is averaging 22 points per game — the third-highest mark of any player in the GAC. Harvey has scored 20 or more points in five of Harding's eight contests so far this season. As a team, Harding is ninth in the conference in scoring offense (75.8 points per game) and fourth in scoring defense (69.5 points per game allowed).
- Traditionally one of the top teams in the conference, Harding has fallen on tough times over the last two years. The Bisons are 15-48 overall and 8-38 in GAC play since the start of the 2017-18 season, but have two strong non-conference wins already in 2019-20 over St. Cloud State and Arkansas-Fort Smith.
