COVERAGE LINKS | GAME NOTES 

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Henderson State will hit the road and make for the Sooner State for the first time this season when it takes on Southwestern Oklahoma State Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Weatherford, Okla. The Reddies will finish off the road trip with Northwestern Oklahoma State Saturday at 3 p.m. in Alva, Okla.  

REDDIES REPORT (5-6, 4-2 GAC) 
Henderson State heads to southwest Oklahoma off its biggest conference win of the young season, triumphing over Oklahoma Baptist in Arkadelphia, 82-77. Five players finished in double figures, led by Zyon Patterson and Malek Davis with 19 apiece. Additionally, Patterson recorded his second double-double of the season in the victory while Tomislav Miholjcic logged his fourth such game. 

Clarence King capped off a great week that saw HSU go 2-0 with his first GAC Player of the Week nod after recording 38 points on 72.7 percent (16-of-22) shooting across the two games. In HSU's contest against Southern Nazarene, King posted the first seven-steal outing in program history during the GAC era. The Kansas City, Missouri, product is shooting a team-best 53.6 percent (52-of-97) from the field and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from three-point range. 

With the help of King, Henderson State is shooting 48.9 percent from the field, which is the best mark in the GAC and 33rd in NCAA Division II as of Tuesday, Jan. 9. The Reddies are just as formidable at field-goal percentage defense, ranking second in the league and 64th in Division II at 42.3 percent. Thursday's opponent, the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs, leads the conference in field-goal percentage defense (42.1%). 

Joining Henderson's GAC second-ranked field-goal percentage defense is its league-best 3.1 turnover margin, which is 44th in the nation. The Reddies have forced 166 turnovers this season, which is the most in the league among teams who have played just 11 games. Davis (1.5), King (1.5) and Patterson (1.4) are each among the Top-10 in the conference in steals per game. 

This season, HSU is 4-1 at the Duke Wells Center but are just 1-5 away from its home floor. In the last two years, the red-and-gray are 5-7 in the Sooner State in conference action. The Reddies have fared well in such cases against the Bulldogs, however, as they have never lost to SWOSU in Weatherford under head coach Jimmy Elgas. Henderson leads the all-time series against Southwestern, 15-8.   

SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA ST. (3-8, 3-3 GAC)
After starting out the year 0-5, Southwestern has split its last six games, with all three wins coming against conference opponents. Two of those three wins came at home, where the Bulldogs are 10-8 over the last two seasons. Of those 10 wins, four of them have come against conference foes from Arkansas. Thursday will be the first GAC team from the Natural State to enter Pioneer Cellular Event Center this season. 

Southwestern Oklahoma's most recent victory came on the road at Southern Arkansas, 84-72; the same place HSU lost earlier this season, 67-66. During that road trip, SWOSU also lost to Arkansas-Monticello, 56-54. The Bulldogs have scored fewer than 55 points in all three of their conference losses, whereas they have scored 74 or more in all three of their league wins. 

Southwestern only manages 65.4 points per game, which is 12th in the GAC. A large chunk of its points comes from senior forward Ben Smith, who is averaging 17.9 points per game, which is fifth among the conference's leaders. Smith has scored in double figures in every game but one, including back-to-back 20-point performances.