ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State shot just 25.9 percent in the second half as Arkansas-Fort Smith won the series' first ever meeting in Arkadelphia, 56-52. The Lions answered HSU's poor shooting with a 37.0% clip of its own during the second 20-minute stint to find victory.
 
Malik Riddle logged his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds while also grabbing two steals. Franck Kamgain was the only other Reddie to join Riddle in double figures with 11 points.
 
Henderson (1-2, 0-0) will remain at the Duke Wells Center over the next two weeks, starting first with Williams Baptist Tuesday, Nov. 22 before a big non-conference battle with Dallas Baptist Saturday, Nov. 26.
 
Arkansas-Fort Smith started the in-state meeting hot from beyond the arc with three of its first four field goals coming from long range to open up a quick 11-5 lead before the first media timeout. The Reddies settled in to reclaim the lead at 19-16 thanks to a 12-2 run with 8:02 remaining in the first half.
 
That run was met by the Lions' own spurt, rattling off 13 of the next 14 game-points for the largest lead of the game on either side, 29-20. A timely called timeout from Henderson proved fruitful, however, as HSU finished off the final three minutes scoring nine unanswered to head into the locker room tied, 29-29.
 
A late three from Alvin Miles brought the score even in what were his only points of the first half. Riddle led the squad through the first 20 minutes with seven points and five rebounds, followed by Josh Mason with five points and KJ Stewart with four points and four rebounds.
 
The Reddies broke the tie within the first 26 seconds with a Ryan Boyce layup for their first lead since the 7:47 mark of the first half, but then went cold. Henderson scored just five points over the next 10 minutes as Arkansas-Fort Smith took advantage, building a 10-point lead with 10:02 remaining, 44-34.
 
Despite the cold shooting, HSU stuck around with stingy defense and aggressive play that yielded trips to the free-throw line. Kamgain used four consecutive freebies and a triple mixed with a Riddle layup to cut the lead to one in a matter of minutes, 44-43.
 
With the momentum in the Duke Wells Center shifted to the home team, Henderson allowed two of Fort Smith's next three field goals to result in offensive rebounds as the Lions quickly jumped back out to a six-point lead. That, paired with the lid returning to the basket for the Reddie shooters, opened the door for UAFS to go on another 7-0 run.
 
With a 51-43 lead with 4:02 remaining in regulation, HSU offered one last jab at the deficit, even working it down all the way to 52-52 off a Riddle three-pointer with 39 seconds left, but a lay-up with 12 seconds remaining followed by a missed jumper from Henderson allowed UAFS to head to the free-throw line for the final time to put the game on ice, 56-52.