ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State got a career-high 20 points from Yuri Swinford and used stingy second-half defense to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and defeat rival Ouachita Baptist 59-56 at the Duke Wells Center on Thursday night.

The win was the Reddies (9-5, 5-3) eighth-straight over the Tigers dating back to 2018, which marks the longest winning streak in the 110-year history of the rivalry series by either team.

Swinford was phenomenal for HSU and poured in 14 of his 20 points in the second half. The senior from Bloomington, Illinois shot 9-of-13 from the floor and also finished with a team-high seven rebounds and three assists. He was the only Reddie in double figures in the game and his 20 points tied for the most by any player in a game this season.

A quick start to the rivalry contest for HSU fizzled out in the first half on Thursday. Henderson jumped out to a 15-8 lead at the 11:35 mark, but saw Ouachita answer with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to seize an 18-15 advantage. The Reddies, who shot 32.3% in the opening period, managed just 10 points in the final 11:35 and trailed 32-25 at the break on their home court.

The start of the second half flipped the script almost instantly for HSU. After struggling to find the stroke in the first 20 minutes of play, the lid came off the basket for the Reddies, as they hit six of their first seven shots — three of which were 3-pointers — to open the period on a 23-9 run and surge to a 48-41 lead at the 11:43 mark. Swinford had 10 points for Henderson during the big run, including back-to-back 3-pointers.

Despite hitting on just three of its first 15 shots from the floor to open the half, Ouachita refused to go away quietly, and answered with a 10-2 spurt over the next four minutes to retake a 51-50 advantage with 7:26 remaining. A basket from Swinford and five-straight points from Malik Riddle kept the lead short-lived for the Tigers and gave HSU a 57-51 cushion behind a 7-0 response.

An OBU basket with 5:20 to go trimmed Henderson's lead down to 57-53, but at that moment, shots stopped falling for both teams. Neither side scored again for two full minutes and Ouachita did not make another field goal in the game.

With the Tigers' trailing 57-55, Ouachita's Ma'Darius Hobson had a chance to tie the score with just over a minute remaining, but missed two free throws to preserve Henderson's lead. After an empty possession on the other end for the Reddies, OBU got an open look at a corner 3-pointer to take the lead with 17 seconds to play, but the long miss was corralled by Swinford for HSU.

As time ticked off the clock, Swinford found a streaking Riddle, who threw down a transition dunk to score Henderson's first points in over five minutes and send the Duke Wells Center into a frenzy with eight ticks left. Down 59-55, Ouachita got a free throw to make it a one possession game in the final seconds, but there was no miraculous finish in the works, as the Reddies held on for their eighth-consecutive victory over their cross-street rival.

HSU ratcheted up its defensive pressure in the second half and it resonated in the box score. The Tigers shot just 7-of-31 (22.6%) from the field in the period and made just four shots from the floor in the final 16 minutes of the game. Henderson limited OBU to 33.9% shooting in the game as whole — the second-lowest percentage of any opponent this season.

The Reddies return to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. when they travel to Monticello, Arkansas to take on UAM.