KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Henderson State men's basketball team opened a new season against a veteran Bemidji State group who was coming off its third 20-win season in program history. The Reddies fell to the Beavers on day one of the Central Region Challenge, 76-63.
Despite both teams shooting 45.9 percent from the floor, BSU made good on 10 of its 32 three-pointer attempts while HSU converted on just 3-of-10 triples. After making their first three-pointer 34 seconds into play courtesy of
Clarence King, the Reddies went 37 minutes and 18 seconds before making another three at the 2:08 mark of regulation.
Zyon Patterson and
Tim McDonald both scored in double figures for the red-and-gray as Patterson recorded an HSU career-high 22 points on 62.5 percent (10-of-16) shooting while also pulling down eight rebounds. McDonald followed Patterson with 11 points and eight boards, including one of Henderson's three triples on the afternoon.
Dating back to last season, Patterson has scored 15 or more points in six of his last seven outings and has shot north of 54.0 percent on a minimum of 10 shots in five of the contests.
Bemidji State converted on four three-pointers for its first four field-goals of the game to help claim an early 14-11 lead. Henderson responded with a 10-0 run to see its biggest lead of the game just before the halfway point of the first half, 21-14.
The Beavers immediately responded with 13 unanswered to re-take the lead. The two teams saw one more tie at 31-31 with 3:41 left before the halftime-whistle, but free-throw shooting aided the four-point margin at the break for BSU, 39-35.
The Reddies kept it close through the early going of the second half, but consistent shot making allowed Bemidji to open a 14-point lead before ballooning it even further to 18 points. McDonald and true freshman
Rece Hipp converted a pair of threes in the game's final two and a half minutes to bring the margin down to 13 before the final whistle blew.
Henderson State (0-1) will remain in Kansas City one more night to take on St. Cloud State Saturday at 3 p.m. for day two of the Central Region Challenge.
