ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After posting two big wins at home last weekend and surging into first place in the conference standings, Henderson State will trek to the Sooner State on Thursday to face Southern Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. in Bethany, Oklahoma.
REDDIES REPORT
- The Reddies (14-4, 9-3) are off to their best start since 2006-07 when they won the Gulf South West Division title and reached the NCAA South Regional Tournament. Henderson picked up two massive victories at home last week over East Central and No. 19 Southeastern Oklahoma State, who were a combined 14-6 in GAC play entering the weekend, to remain unbeaten this season at the Duke Wells Center (10-0).
- With 10 conference games remaining, Henderson is in a tie with Southeastern Oklahoma for first place in the GAC at 9-3, but currently owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Savage Storm. The Reddies won the first matchup of the season with each of the teams who are currently in the top-half of the league standings: Southeastern, Southern Nazarene, East Central, Oklahoma Baptist, Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas.
- Defense has been HSU's calling card all season and the Reddies continue to climb up the national rankings on that end of the court. Henderson is now No. 2 in all of NCAA DII in field goal percentage defense (38.9% shooting for opponents) and 11th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.9% shooting). Offensively, the Reddies have been excellent as well, particularly in conference play. HSU leads the GAC in scoring offense in league games (83.1 points per game).
- Superior depth has helped Henderson build one of the most formidable lineups in the conference this year. The Reddies have 10 players who average 13 or more minutes and have eight who average six or more points. HSU has had four or more players score in double figures in 14 of its 18 contests this season. Henderson has had the same leading scorer in back-to-back games just once since Nov. 30.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN NAZARENE
- Southern Nazarene comes into Thursday's contest 14-6 overall and 8-4 in GAC play. The Crimson Storm had won five-straight games after falling to Henderson back on Jan. 4, but saw that streak snapped in a 57-54 loss to SAU on Saturday. SNU is led by head coach Adam Bohac who has won 243 games in 12 years at the school.
- Once again, Henderson will have to contain arguably the best one-two punch in the league in SNU's Jonathan Dunn and Micah Speight. Dunn leads the GAC in scoring (27.5 points per game), while Speight averages 19 per contest, but both struggled against the Reddies in Arkadelphia. Dunn was held to 21 points on 6-for-18 shooting and Speight had just 10 while struggling to a 3-of-15 shooting night. Dunn has scored 20 or more points in all but two games this year and is averaging 30.6 points per game in the Sawyer Center.
- The Crimson Storm have been a dominant force at home this season. SNU is 8-1 in the Sawyer Center with eight-straight wins under its belt. Southern Nazarene's average margin of victory over GAC opponents in home contests this season is a staggering 26.1 points and its closest conference game was a 12-point victory over Southeastern Oklahoma on Dec. 14.
