MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Henderson State's Ryan Boyce drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer on Saturday afternoon to lift the Reddies to a dramatic 65-62 road victory over Southern Arkansas.

Malik Riddle led the Reddies with 13 points, while Xavier Davenport finished with 12 and Franck Kamgain had 11. Boyce's game-winner gave him nine points to go along with his team-high seven rebounds. The win improved HSU to 6-2 on the year and 2-0 in GAC play.

It was a hotly-contested first half at the W.T. Watson Center, as the lead changed hands four times and the score was tied on five occasions. After falling behind 26-20 at the 7:01 mark, the Reddies put together a quick 6-0 spurt behind a jumper from Kamgain, and two layups from Davenport and Boyce, to tie the score at 26-26 with 4:46 left in the half.

After watching Henderson erase its lead, Southern Arkansas won the last four minutes of the period. The Muleriders finished the half on a 10-3 run to seize their largest advantage of the game, 36-29, at the break. HSU shot 35.8% in the first 20 minutes, but forced 11 SAU turnovers and committed just four to stay within striking distance. 

The Reddies began the second half strong and used six points from Davenport to fuel an 8-2 run to cut their deficit down to 38-37 at the 17:52 mark. Southern Arkansas answered quickly and got back-to-back 3-pointers to reestablish a 46-39 advantage at the under 16-minute media timeout.

The lead grew as large as nine points, 54-45, for SAU with 12 minutes remaining, but Henderson refused to go away. The Reddies surged over the next four minutes and got a 3-pointer from Malik Riddle, as well as buckets from Andre Washington and Davenport, to slice the Muleriders's lead down to 56-54 with 7:36 to go in the game.

As the Southern Arkansas lead dwindled and time began to tick away, the Henderson defense started to control the game. SAU scored just eight total points in the last 12 minutes, which allowed the Reddies to capitalize. After trailing for the entire second half, HSU finally broke through with three minutes left, when it got a bucket from Tomislav Miholjcic and a driving layup from Kamgain to go in front 60-59.

A 1-for-2 trip at the stripe by the Muleriders tied the game at 60-60 with two minutes remaining in regulation. A driving floater by Davenport broke the tie with 1:16 to go and gave Henderson a 62-60 advantage. The Reddies got a stop on the other end, but were called for a charge in the ensuing transition which gave SAU one final chance.

Needing a basket, the Muleriders got one on a tying tip-in from Devante Brooks with 6.3 seconds left. With one last possession before overtime, HSU called for time and drew up a final play for the win. It worked to perfection, as Quawn Marshall charged up the court, drew defenders and pitched the ball back to Boyce on the left wing. The forward from Memphis let it go uncontested as the buzzer sounded, and the only thing it hit was the bottom of the net, setting off a wild victory celebration from the visitor's bench.

Henderson's defense was dominant in the second half of the road win. The Reddies held SAU to 29% shooting in the final 20 minutes and the Muleriders were 1-for-13 from the field to the end game. HSU was 14-fo-25 (56%) from the floor in the second half and outscored Southern Arkansas 34-28 in the paint.

The Reddies return to action on Saturday, Dec. 11 when they host Arkansas Tech at 3 p.m. in Arkadelphia.