ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – A slow start doomed Henderson State Saturday as Southwestern Oklahoma State left Arkadelphia with the 75-70 victory. It is the first time the Reddies have lost back-to-back home games since the 2017-18 season.
 
Henderson made just five three-pointers on the afternoon compared to SWOSU's 11 makes. Franck Kamgain and Malik Riddle were responsible for all five of those treys, totaling 17 and 15 points, respectively. Riddle also pulled down 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
 
The Reddies got behind the eight-ball early, getting off to a slow start after making just one of six field goals prior to the first media timeout at 15:43, while SWOSU scored nine for the six-point advantage. From there, another 7-2 run over the next two and a half minutes spelled a 16-5 lead for the Bulldogs.
 
Patterson scored back-to-back buckets to bring the deficit back to seven as both teams traded baskets until the 9:45 mark. Seven of the next nine points went the visitor's way as Southwestern once again opened a double-digit lead, 30-17.
 
Second-chance points, free-throws and defense saw HSU begin to climb back late in the opening half as the Reddies made seven straight at the charity stripe and finished the opening 20 minutes on a 7-0 run to bring the score to 33-29 at the break.
 
Another slow start to open the second period gave way for Southwestern to regain a nine-point lead four and a half minutes into second-half action. A slight push from the Reddies got the lead back down to three, 49-46, before the Bulldogs proceeded to go on a 14-0 run as HSU went four minutes without scoring a point.
 
With the 17-point cushion, Henderson was unable to generate a run large enough to overtake SWOSU. A furious late rally that saw the Reddies cut the lead down to three with 32 seconds remaining in regulation, 73-70, fell short as a pair of free-throws on the other end kept the final outcome out of reach.
 
Henderson St. (7-7, 4-4) will hit the hardwood again Thursday, Jan. 19 when HSU heads to Magnolia, Arkansas, to take on Southern Arkansas for the second time this season. In the first matchup back in December, the Reddies defeated the Muleriders, 75-67.