ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State had four players score in double figures and held Oklahoma Baptist to 37.5% shooting on the night to defeat the Bison 83-70 at the Duke Wells Center on Thursday in the first contest of the new year.

Mike Fofana led the Reddies (8-3, 3-2) with 18 points and was 10-of-12 at the free throw line. Chris Parker chipped in 16 points, while Anthony Lupardus and Chris Owens each had 12.

The game was tightly contested early, but with the teams knotted at 18-18 and just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, Henderson put together the first run of the night. The Reddies used a 3-pointer from Lupardus and baskets from Owens and Raekwon Rogers to power an 11-3 spurt which gave them the game's largest lead at that point, 29-21.

Oklahoma Baptist answered with an 11-3 run of its own to tie the score back up 32-32 at the 2:54 mark, but the Reddies finished the period with a flurry, and ended the half on a 13-4 run to carry a 45-36 advantage into the break.

Henderson did nothing to relinquish its lead in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as a bucket from Owens and a free throw from Xavier Davenport gave HSU its largest lead of the night, 65-49 with 9:16 remaining.  

The Bison continued to claw back into the game, eventually trimming the lead down to 70-62 with 4:19 left. Lupardus shut the door on an OKBU comeback, however, as he drilled a 3-pointer on the Reddies' next possession to restore the double digit-advantage. Oklahoma Baptist never got within eight points again, as Henderson salted it away to remain unbeaten at home this season.

The Reddies shot 47.6% from the floor in the win and held Oklahoma Baptist to 8-for-28 shooting from the 3-point line. HSU took half as many attempts from beyond the arc as the Bison did in the win.

Henderson returns to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when it hosts two-time defending GAC champion Southern Nazarene in the Duke Wells Center.