ALVA, Okla. — Henderson State had five players score in double figures and out-scored Northwestern Oklahoma State by 16 in the second half to defeat the Rangers 84-69 on Thursday night in Percefull Fieldhouse. The win is the fourth-straight for HSU and its third-consecutive conference victory. 

The Reddies (10-3, 5-2) trailed 43-42 at the half on the road after NWOSU closed the first period on a 10-2 run, but momentum swung Henderson's way quickly at the start of the second. With the Rangers leading 45-44 at the 18:15 mark, HSU got things going and used two 3-pointers from Anthony Lupardus, one from Chris Parker and one from Chris Owens to power a huge 19-1 run over a six minute period which helped the Reddies seize complete control and a 63-46 advantage. NWOSU did not hit a shot from the floor for over six minutes during the big Henderson run.

The lead ballooned to as many as 19 points for HSU with just under 12 minutes remaining, but trailing 68-49, NWOSU refused to roll over and used a 10-2 spurt of its own to trim the deficit down to 70-59 with 7:58 left to go. The Rangers would fail to get the score within single digits, however, as Henderson stemmed the tide down the stretch with strong defense and big buckets from Rel Johnson to pull away for a comfortable 84-69 win.

Johnson led HSU with a season-high 19 points, while Mike Fofana chipped in 16, Parker had 14, Lupardus finished with 12 and Owens added 11. The Reddies were out-rebounded 19-16 in the first half but beat NWOSU 25-13 on the glass in the second period. Henderson shot 46.8% from the floor on the night and held the Rangers to 38.9% shooting, including a mark of 32% in the final 20 minutes.

The Reddies return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they travel to Weatherford, Oklahoma to do battle with Southwestern Oklahoma State.