SHAWNEE, Okla. — No. 6 seed Henderson State led for more than 24 minutes on Saturday night in the GAC Semifinals, including for most of the second half, but No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas hit seven of its last nine shots to rally and outlast the Reddies, 84-81.

The loss ends the season for HSU, who finishes 15-15 overall after reaching the semifinal round of the conference tournament for the fourth time in the last five years.

Franck Kamgain, in his final game at Henderson, led the Reddies with 21 points. Alvin Miles finished with 20 points, seven assists and two rebounds. Malik Riddle poured in 19 in his last game in the red and gray.

It was a back-and-forth start to the semifinal contest. Both teams saw shots fall early and the score reflected the trading of punches, as the lead changed hands 12 times in the opening 20 minutes.

The Muleriders appeared to be in control at the outset. The No. 2 seed was red-hot and knocked down eight 3-pointers in the first half, but the Reddie defense cooled them off in the last five minutes of the period. SAU was held without a basket in the final 4:37 and HSU took advantage, ripping off an 11-1 run to close with a flourish and take a 47-39 lead into the locker room.

SAU erased Henderson's halftime cushion in a matter of moments to open the second half, as the Muleriders used a 7-0 run to trim the deficit down to 47-46 at the 18:30 mark. Despite the run from Southern Arkansas, the Reddies responded and settled back into the lead, gradually putting together a 19-10 stretch over the next nine minutes to open up their largest advantage, 66-56, with 9:22 to go.

Trailing by double digits, the Muleriders flipped the game on its head in the final minutes. SAU got going offensively and hit seven of its last nine shots from the floor to whittle away the Henderson advantage before finally taking its first lead of the second half, 78-77, with 1:16 remaining.

The Reddies had opportunities in the final minute to either tie the game or retake the lead, but were unable to come up with the basket they needed. In HSU's last gasp of the season, Kamgain's desperation 3-pointer as time expired went wide of the rim, ending Henderson's run at the conference tournament just shy of the title game. 

Henderson won the overall rebounding battle for the night 39-37, but SAU had a 19-12 edge in the final 20 minutes. The Muleriders also had a decided advantage at the free throw line, both in the game as a whole and the second half. Southern Arkansas finished 17-for-25 on the night from the stripe and got to the line 16 times in the final period. The Reddies were just 3-for-6 in the second half and 9-for-13 overall in the loss.