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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The conference portion of the 2023-24 season gets underway Thursday, Nov. 30 in Magnolia, Arkansas, as the Henderson State Reddies take on the Southern Arkansas Muleriders in Great American Conference action. Tip-off from W.T. Watson Athletic Center is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
REDDIES REPORT (1-2, 0-0 GAC)
Henderson State will hit the hardwood for the first time since its 114-60 victory over Division III Lyon College exactly two weeks ago. Thursday will be HSU's first true road game of the season after opening the 2023-24 campaign in Kansas City, Missouri, for a pair of neutral site contests, followed by the 54-point home-opening victory against the Scots, which was HSU's largest margin of victory in over 20 years.
 
The Reddies head into the Southern Arkansas matchup carrying a 1-2 record. Prior to earning its first win of the season over Lyon College, HSU started slow out of the gates with losses to Bemidji State and St. Cloud St. in the Central Region Challenge. The red-and-gray enter the conference portion of its schedule with a losing record for just the third time in head coach Jimmy Elgas' nine seasons in Arkadelphia.
 
Zyon Patterson leads Henderson with 14.0 points per game, having scored eight or more points in all three contests, including a career-high 22 points against Bemidji State in the opener. Patterson has shot 62.0 percent or better from the field in two of his three outings, second only to Ken Lewis, who has missed just two of his 15 shot attempts this season for 86.7 percent. Lewis is currently second on the squad with 12.3 points per game.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt transfer Malek Davis, after failing to score in the opener, has strung together back-to-back 16-point games. In those two contests, Davis is shooting 13-of-27 (48.1 %) from the field and 6-of-13 (46.2%) from beyond the arc. With the help of that trio, Henderson is averaging 80.3 points per game, which is currently third in the GAC, while holding teams to 70.0 points for fifth in the league. The Reddies are also shooting a conference-best 53.4 percent from the floor through three games.
 
Thursday will be the 191st all-time meeting between the former AIC-rivals, with HSU leading the overall series, 110-80. Henderson State's 110 victories over Southern Arkansas are its most wins against any one GAC opponent. Despite splitting the regular season matchups last year, the Reddies have dropped two straight to the Muleriders, with the most recent meeting coming in the 2022-23 GAC Tournament Semifinals. Seven of the last eight meetings between the two programs have been decided by single digits, including five decided by five points or fewer.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS (2-3, 0-0 GAC)
Similar to Henderson State, Southern Arkansas has not beaten a Division II opponent this season with its two victories coming against NCCAA members Arlington Baptist and  Ecclesia College. Most recently, the Muleriders narrowly lost to an Angelo State team that reached the NCAA Tournament a season ago, 64-63. Holding a two-point lead in the waning seconds, the Rams hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to seize the victory.
 
Southern Arkansas was without leading scorer Gregory Hammond Jr., who has missed the last two games, against Angelo St. Carel Ray Jr. took Hammond's place with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting while also tallying five rebounds and three steals. The Muleriders held the Rams to 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from beyond the arc, though all six triples came in the second half to help fuel ASU's comeback victory. SAU is currently third in the league in both opponent field-goal percentage (42.1%) and three-point field-goal percentage (30.9%). Henderson State leads the league in opponent field-goal percentage (41.2%).
 
In the 2023 GAC Tournament, No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas won each of its first two games by a total of seven points before claiming the Championship with a 20-point victory over Arkansas Tech, clinching its second NCAA Tournament berth in the last three seasons. In the semifinal game against HSU, former Muleriders Brock Schreiner and Blake Rogers led the scoring with 19 and 18 points, respectively, while HSU had a pair of 20-point scorers. As a team, SAU separated itself by going to the free-throw line 25 times, making 17 of them compared to nine for the Reddies on their 13 attempts.