Henderson State University Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Franck Kamgain tallied a career-high 20 points and Henderson State used a 24-7 run in the second half to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Washburn in the first game of the 2022-23 season, 79-73.

Kamgain was white-hot from beyond the arc on the night, going 6-of-7, including five treys in the second half, while adding a pair of free throws to claim the first 20-point outing of his career. Tomislav Miholjcic added 14 points and six rebounds while Alvin Miles contributed 12 points and four assists.

The first half saw four lead changes within the first 10 and a half minutes until Washburn took the fourth lead change all the way to intermission. With HSU holding a 19-14 advantage, the Ichabods went on an 11-0 run to seize the advantage before a Malik Riddle triple halted the run, 25-22.

Washburn held the Reddies at bay over the final six and a half minutes, heading to the locker room ahead 36-29 after shooting 50% (7-of-14) from deep compared to HSU's 18.2% (2-11). The three-point shot would come for Henderson in the second half.  

With teams trading buckets the first three and a half minutes of the second half to bring the score to 43-35, Kamgain's first three of the second 20-minute stint gave head coach Jimmy Elgas' team the spark it needed. Kamgain proceeded to knock down five triples over the next six minutes, with a three from newcomer Clarence King followed by a jumper from fellow newcomer Zyon Patterson fueled the 24-7 onslaught.

After HSU grabbed an eight-point lead, Washburn used a three-pointer to stop the bleeding breifly at 60-55 before Miholjcic used back-to-back buckets at the 5:15 mark to reestablish the Reddies' largest lead of the game up to that point, 64-55.

With Henderson breaking through for a double-digit advantage moments later, free throw shooting led HSU the rest of the way. Despite going 5-for-11 from the charity stripe in the first half as a team, veteran Miles secured four straight freebies as part of a personal 6-0 run late in the contest to ice things from Municipal Auditorium, 79-73.

Henderson will remain in Kansas City one more night when it finishes the Central Regional Challenge with the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks tomorrow at 3 p.m. Both teams will enter the head-to-head 1-0 after MSU defeated Missouri Southern earlier in the afternoon, 87-73.