LIVE COVERAGE LINKS | GAME NOTES
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State makes its first conference road trip of the season on Saturday when it travels to Magnolia to face rival Southern Arkansas at 3 p.m.
REDDIES REPORT
- HSU started GAC play off on the right foot on Thursday night when it outlasted UAM 54-50 at home. The Reddies shot just 34% from the floor but overcame the cold shooting night with dominant defense which forced 27 Weevil turnovers. Arkansas-Monticello was held without a field goal for over nine minutes in the second half.
- The Reddies' defense has been suffocating so far this season. HSU is limiting opponents to 67.3 points per game and 28.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Henderson has forced 20-plus turnovers in three of its first six games and is +4.7 in turnover margin.
- Newcomer Alvin Miles has provided Henderson with a lift early in his career in Arkadelphia. Miles led the Reddies with 13 points in the win over UAM and is the team-leader in assists with 21 (3.5 per game) so far this year. He is averaging 9.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game off of the bench and is shooting 90.9% from the line.
- Forward Ryan Boyce, a transfer from Georgia State, has made an impact for HSU in his first two games of the year against Pitt State and UAM. Boyce played 19 minutes against the Gorillas in his first action of the season, then scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, including four offensive, in the win over the Weevils.
- The Reddies have won just twice in Magnolia since the inception of the GAC in 2011 with the most recent victory coming in 2020. HSU is 2-8 in its last 10 trips to Southern Arkansas. Henderson fell to SAU three times last season by a combined 13 points. The Reddies had won four-straight in the series prior to the 2021 spring campaign.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
- Southern Arkansas is 5-2 overall this season and 1-0 in GAC play after downing Harding 80-62 on Thursday night in Searcy, Arkansas. The Muleriders were 12-4 in the conference last season and fell just short to UAM in the GAC Tournament final. SAU was picked second in the league's 2021 Preseason Poll.
- The Muleriders have several big-time weapons, most notably guard Aaron Lucas, who is the reigning GAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, as well as forward Devante Brooks, who leads the team in both scoring (17.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 rebounds per game). Brooks is shooting 61.3% from the floor this year.
- SAU has faced off against several prestigious programs already this season, including Augustana, Northern State and Dallas Baptist. The Muleriders defeated then No. 19 DBU 80-66 in Dallas in one of the biggest in-region non-conference wins of the year.
