COVERAGE LINKS | GAME NOTES

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - With the first run-through of GAC opponents in the rear view mirror, Henderson State now begins the back half of its schedule, beginning with the season's second head-to-head with Southern Arkansas. The Reddies and the Muleriders will get their second meeting underway from the Duke Wells Center Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3 p.m.  

REDDIES REPORT (6-10, 5-6 GAC)
Henderson State fell below .500 in conference play Thursday night after falling to Ouachita Baptist, 91-86. This is the second season in a row HSU has been 5-6 through 11 GAC contests. Last year, the Reddies rallied over the second half of the season, winning six of their final seven games before eventually reaching the GAC Tournament Semifinals. Remaining on the schedule for head coach Jimmy Elgas' squad is six road games and five home games as they aim for a similar run.

The red-and-gray will look to take full advantage of their remaining time inside the Duke Wells Center, where they are 5-2 this season. The five opponents who will be making their way to Arkadelphia over the next month were a combined 4-1 against HSU in the first go-around. Three of those losses were by six points or fewer.

The Reddies' offense continued to function at a high level Thursday with the Battle of the Ravine marking the fifth time in the last seven games HSU has eclipsed 80 points. Unfortunately for the red-and-gray, Thursday was also the fifth straight game Henderson has allowed at least 78 points, with four of those occurrences coming in a loss. Among league ranks, HSU is now second in scoring offense (78.8 ppg) and 10th in scoring defense (75.9 ppg).

Henderson State is one of just three teams in the GAC with three players averaging 12 or more points per game. Malek Davis continues to pace the team at 14.1 points per outing after delivering his third consecutive 17-point showing Thursday. Zyon Patterson (13.9) and Tomislav Miholjcic (12.3), after posting a career-high 22 points against Ouachita Baptist, back up Davis as the leading scorers for HSU.

The Reddies come into Saturday's contest having suffered three straight losses to Southern Arkansas, including earlier this season. After holding a 14-point halftime lead, the Muleriders shot 51.7 percent in the second half and used an and-1 with 10 seconds remaining in regulation to claim the come-from-behind victory, 67-66.  

SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS (7-10, 5-6 GAC)
Southern Arkansas was riding a three-game winning streak before losing on the road at Arkansas-Monticello Thursday, 67-61. The Muleriders held a slim two-point advantage at the break, but were outscored, 35-27, over the final 20 minutes. Southern Arkansas finished the day 7-of-13 (53.8%) from the free-throw line while UAM made 12 free-throws in the second half alone - two more than SAU had second-half field-goals.

Leading scorer Carel Ray Jr. was held to just 13 points, which served as Southern Arkansas' team-high that day. Ray Jr. shot just 1-of-9 from three-point range, while the Muleriders as a team went 8-of-27 (29.6%) from behind the arc. The GAC's eighth leading scorer recorded a then-season-high 20 points against HSU in the season's first meeting, including the eventual game-winning and-1.

Saturday will begin a three-game road stand for Southern Arkansas, which finds itself in the same boat as the Reddies at 5-6 in conference. This season marks the worst 11-game start in league play since the 2019-20 season. That year, SAU finished 13-16 overall and 10-12 in GAC action while still making the GAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed.