RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Henderson State came up just short in the program's first-ever triple-overtime contest on Saturday, as Arkansas Tech out-lasted the Reddies 126-122 inside Tucker Coliseum.

Henderson (12-4, 7-3) trailed 43-37 at the half after hitting just one of its first 12 shots to start the game and shooting 36.8% in the first 20 minutes of action. The hole got deeper for the Reddies to begin the second, as Arkansas Tech opened the half on a 12-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 55-39, at the 16:34 mark.

Needing a big run to get back into it, the Reddies found one, as four points from Chris Parker and Jeremiah Toney, and two 3-pointers from Mike Fofana, powered a quick 19-4 run which almost entirely erased the deficit and trimmed the lead down to 59-58 with 12 minutes remaining. 

The momentum was short-lived for Henderson, as the Wonder Boys regrouped following a questionable fourth foul call on Fofana, and responded with an 11-0 run of their own to regain a double-digit advantage with 9:32 to go, 70-58.

The Reddies refused to fold, however, and gradually scrapped their way back into the game once again; eventually cutting the deficit down to just 84-83 with 14 seconds remaining thanks to two three-point-plays from Chris Owens. After two missed free throws from the Wonder Boys gave Henderson a chance to win it, Parker was fouled on a jump shot with 3.5 seconds remaining and went 1-for-2 at the line to send the game into overtime.

Henderson scored the first seven points of the overtime period to take its largest lead of the day, 91-84, with under four minutes to play. Tech rallied, however, and tied the game at 94-94 on a 30-foot 3-pointer from RJ Glasper with seven seconds to play. Once again with a chance to win it at the buzzer, the Reddies could not, as Rel Johnson's corner 3-pointer was an inch long and the contest moved into its second overtime.

Neither team could separate itself in the second extra period as the lead changed hands 11 different times in five minutes. Three free throws from Glasper with 45 seconds left gave Tech a 111-109 advantage, but a put-back layup on the other end from Chris Owens tied things back up at the 31 second mark. The Wonder Boys got two shots on their final possession to win it, but the Reddies withstood both and the game progressed into it's third overtime.

Things began to break ATU's way in the final five minutes. With Henderson up 113-111, the Wonder Boys got a three-point play and back-to-back 3-pointers to fuel a 9-1 run which gave them a 120-114 advantage — their largest lead of overtime — with 2:38 remaining. Tech would not hit another shot from the floor, but the six-point cushion and a flurry of free throws in the last two minutes would prove to be enough, as the Reddies were unable to climb out of one final hole and fell in an epic game.

Parker led Henderson with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Owens had a career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds off of the bench, while Toney also had a fantastic game with 17 points in 15 minutes of action. Johnson finished with 15 points, and Lupardus and Fofana each had 14 to round out the double figure scorers for HSU.

The Reddies set new school records for rebounds (66) and shots attempted (101) in defeat. HSU out-rebounded ATU 66-53 but was whistled for nine more fouls and took 17 less free throws than the Wonder Boys on the road. Arkansas Tech was 8-for-14 from 3-point range in overtime and hit more 3-pointers in the extra periods than Henderson made in the entire 55-minute contest. 

HSU returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 23 when it faces East Central at 7:30 p.m. in the Duke Wells Center.