BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Henderson State came flying out of the gates on Friday night and never looked back, as the Reddies defeated No. 4 seed Southern Arkansas 74-62 to advance to the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament.

The win is the Reddies' first in the GAC Tournament since 2013-14 and earns them the right to take on No. 1 seed Southern Nazarene at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday evening with the winner advancing to the league title game on Sunday.

It was a dream start for the Reddies (19-10), as four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes helped Henderson streak out to a commanding 16-2 lead at the 13:37 mark of the opening half.

The lead ballooned to as many as 18 for HSU in the first period, but Southern Arkansas hung around, and finished the half on a 19-11 run to cut the Reddies' advantage down to 38-27 at the break.

SAU (19-10) brought the game within single digits in the opening minutes of the second, but Henderson threw another punch, as back-to-back 3-pointers from Chris Parker and Mike Fofana spurred a 10-2 run to stretch the lead back out to 50-33.

Much like in the first half, the Reddies' advantage widened over the next five minutes of play, as they opened up their largest lead of the game, 63-43, on a fast break layup with 7:02 left. The Muleriders made one final push, though, and used three-straight 3-pointers to power a lightning-fast 17-2 run over the next four minutes to suddenly trim the deficit to just 65-60 at the three minute mark.

Facing pressure for the first time all evening, the Reddies slammed the door, courtesy of Parker, Raekwon Rogers, and Rel Johnson, who each knocked down two free throws down the stretch, to end the Muleriders' comeback dreams and advance HSU to the semifinals.

Parker and Joshua Jones were both outstanding for Henderson, as Parker finished with a game-high 19 points and five assists, while Jones scored 16 and chipped in six rebounds to lead HSU. Rogers added 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals in just 18 minutes. Ten different players scored in the win for the Reddies.