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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After a 10-day break for the Christmas holidays, Henderson State's men's basketball team returns to conference action on Thursday, when the Reddies host 2021-22 GAC preseason favorite Oklahoma Baptist at 7:30 p.m. in the Duke Wells Center.

REDDIES REPORT
- Henderson State picked up a huge comeback win over in-region foe Dallas Baptist before the Christmas break. The Reddies, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, rallied and stunned the Patriots 78-75 in Dallas to notch their third DII non-conference win of the season. HSU shot just under 58% in the second half and limited DBU to 29.6% shooting on the other end for the last 20 minutes.

- The Reddies are one of the deepest teams in the country and that depth was on full display against DBU. Damian Dear, who entered the contest averaging less than three points per game, was the hero for HSU and scored 20 points off the bench in the victory. Dear finished 5-for-8 from the field and 8-for-8 at the free throw line. 

- HSU has been on a roll to start its 2021-22 campaign. Henderson is 7-3 overall and has won six of its last eight games. The Reddies' two losses during that period both came in overtime and its loss to UAFS came as time expired on a buzzer-beater.

- Henderson has nine players who are playing 15 or more minutes per game this year and seven who are playing more than 20. The Reddies have not had the same player lead them in scoring in back-to-back games yet this season. Eight different players have started a game for HSU while Quawn Marshall and Xavier Davenport are the only two that have started all 10 contests.

- Jimmy Elgas needs just one more win to eclipse 100 total victories for his career at HSU. Elgas would become the fourth head coach in program history to record 100 or more wins in Arkadelphia, joining Don Dyer (202), Rand Chappell (130), and Grady Bean (101), who are each in the Henderson State Hall of Honor. Elgas is 99-77 during his time with the Reddies, which includes a mark of 60-31 since 2018.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
- Oklahoma Baptist enters Thursday's contest 6-4 overall and 3-1 in GAC play. The Bison are in a four-way tie for second place in the league alongside Henderson, UAM and Southern Arkansas. OKBU was selected by the league's coaches as the 2021-22 preseason favorite to win the conference title back in October. 

- The Bison are led offensively by transfer guard Burke Putnam. Putnam, who came to OKBU from Valdosta State, is the top scorer in the conference and averages 21.4 points per game. Oklahoma Baptist also leans on veteran guard Brantly Thompson, who averages 14.4 points and was a 2021 Unanimous First Team All-GAC selection. Thompson has started 101 games in his career for the Bison.

- As a team, OKBU ranks sixth in the GAC in both scoring offense (71.7 points per game) and scoring defense (69.6). The Bison are last in the league in turnover margin (-1.9) but are fourth in rebounding margin (+4.4).