BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — In a game of runs, the last one came from Henderson State, who finished on a 20-9 spurt to defeat No. 2 seed Southeastern Oklahoma State 76-73 and earn a spot in the GAC Championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Reddies (22-8) will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma Baptist, who raced past three-time defending GAC champion Southern Nazarene in the noon game on Saturday. The two sides, who were ranked No. 8 and No. 9 in the final Central Region Rankings, will be playing for an automatic bid to the NCAA DII Tournament.

Chris Parker led four Henderson State players in double figures with 19 points and also finished with six rebounds and five assists. Rel Johnson had 17, Raekwon Rogers had 14 on 7-of-11 shooting, and Mike Fofana chipped in 13.

Momentum swung both ways in the first half. With Southeastern up 20-16, Henderson threw the first big punch of the day by scoring the next 13 points to go in front 29-20 at the 4:35 mark. The Reddies held SOSU scoreless for five minutes during the run. The Savage Storm got on track at the end of the half, however, and used a dominant 17-4 burst to close the period and seize a 37-33 advantage at the break.

The runs continued in the second half. It was Henderson's turn to begin the period, as the Reddies came roaring out of the gates in the first 10 minutes to surge in front 49-44 on a 3-pointer from Johnson at the 12:47 mark. His deep ball capped a 16-7 stretch for HSU. Southeastern had another big answer again, and hit eight-straight shots over the next six minutes to surge back in front, 64-56, with 6:46 remaining in the game thanks to a 20-7 run.

Faced with an eight-point deficit and its season hanging in the balance for the second-straight day, Henderson answered the bell once more, and gradually climbed back even with two minutes to go, 70-70, behind threes from Anthony Lupardus and Johnson, and a three-point play from Parker.

Both teams threw haymakers in the final minutes. A layup from Jeremiah Toney gave HSU its first lead in eight minutes, 72-70, but Adam Dworsky hit a monster 3-pointer for SOSU to push the Savage Storm back in front 73-72 on the other end. 

Trailing by a point, the Reddies got a big stop on defense and took the lead on their next trip down courtesy of two free throws from Mike Fofana, who calmly drilled both ends of a 1-and-1 to give HSU a 74-73 advantage with 18 seconds left. Needing one more stand defensively, Henderson got it, as a 3-pointer from Southeastern clanged off the rim and was rebounded by Parker with 1.6 on the clock. Parker, who was fouled, knocked down two free throws and SOSU's 40-foot prayer was short as the buzzer sounded, setting off a wild celebration on the Reddies' bench.

Henderson shot an incredible 57.1% from the floor in the second half of the victory. Southeastern's Kevin Buckingham, who was the 2019 GAC Player of the Year, was held scoreless in the game and fouled out on the bump that sent Fofana to the line for the game-winning free throws. 

The Reddies will be making their second GAC Championship game appearance in men's basketball on Sunday. HSU advanced to the final in 2014 as a No. 6 seed but fell to Harding in double overtime.