ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State's four-game winning streak remained as such after the Reddies fell to East Central Saturday afternoon, 90-79. The loss drops HSU to sole possession of seventh while remaining one game ahead of eighth-place Southwestern Oklahoma St. and Ouachita Baptist.
 
East Central shot 61.3 percent (19-31) from the field in the first 20 minutes of game action as Henderson struggled to get much of anything going. The Reddies scored nine points in the first five and a half minutes compared to just 19 in the final 14:33 before halftime.
 
Alvin Miles led the scoring with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting while adding six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Zyon Patterson added 15 after getting the start, followed by Franck Kamgain with 14 points and an HSU-career high seven assists.
 
Scoring was at a premium through the early going, with the score reading 6-5 in favor of East Central at the first media timeout. A quick four-run spurt from HSU allowed the red-and-gray to retake a slight lead before the game stood at a tie, 15-15. From there, East Central hit back-to-back triples for the final lead change of the opening half, 21-15.
 
The Reddies got it back within four, 25-21, before ECU went on a 16-2 run to establish the largest lead of the game up to that point, 41-23, with just under two minutes remaining until the break. The margin remained 18 as Henderson went to the locker room with 18 points to make up in the final 20 minutes.
 
Much of the second half was spent with the Reddies crawling their way back, only to have the Tigers hit one of their 11 three-pointers to keep the home team at bay. Henderson was able to cut the deficit to nine on two different occasions before an ECU bucket brought the lead back to double digits.
 
The closest the game got in the second period was eight with 6:23 remaining before the lid on the rim shut for Henderson, who only hit one field goal over the next five minutes. East Central took advantage of the cold spurt, jumping back out to a 15-point lead before a Malik Riddle layup brought the score 84-71, though it was too little, too late.
 
A 6-0 run from HSU inside the final minute filled the home crowd with its last bit of hope before free-throws from the visitors put the finishing touches on the afternoon, 90-79. Henderson St. (12-14, 9-11) will remain in Arkadelphia for one last game when Arkansas Tech comes to the Duke Wells Center Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m.