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GAME NOTES
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Henderson State will put the finishing touches on its 2023-24 season with Senior Day inside the Duke Wells Center Saturday, Mar. 2. The Reddies will immediately follow Senior Day festivities with a 3 p.m. tip-off against Harding for their home finale.
REDDIES REPORT (8-18, 7-14 GAC)
In its last outing, Henderson State's defense held Arkansas Tech, the league's most efficient three-point shooting team, to just 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from long range while also holding the conference's leading scorer Taelon Peter to a GAC season-low six points. Despite the strong defensive showing, second-half offense hurt the Reddies as they only made 9-of-28 field-goal attempts (32.1 percent) in the final 20 minutes of game action.
Ken Lewis led the scoring for the visitors, putting up a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including going 3-of-5 from deep and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line. In the last three games, Lewis has made at least two three-pointers in each outing and is shooting 53.8 percent from beyond the arc during that stretch. For the season, Lewis is shooting 36.5 percent (31-of-85) from deep, which is 18th in the GAC.
Zyon Patterson continued his hot scoring streak with his 11th consecutive game scoring in double figures after recording 18 points Thursday against Arkansas Tech. Patterson, who currently has 406 points on the season, needs just six more points to pass
Franck Kamgain's 411 points last year as the most single-season points scored since Chris Parker (473) in 2019-20.
Over the last seven seasons, Henderson State has dominated the head-to-head meetings with Harding. The Reddies have not lost to Harding at the Duke Wells Center since the 2016-17 season and have won 13 of the last 15 meetings, including the last eight contests. Earlier this season, HSU went to Searcy, Arkansas, and defeated Harding, 78-65, behind a dominant 20-point, 13-rebound effort from Patterson.
Tomislav Miholjcic echoed Patterson's play with a double-double of his own with 14 points and 10 boards.
SCOUTING HARDING (12-15, 9-12 GAC)
Harding enters Saturday's season finale on a three-game losing streak as the Bisons are currently tied for seventh in the conference. Harding is trying to punch its ticket to the GAC Tournament under the eight-team format for the first time since 2017. A win on Saturday will also give HU its first 10-win GAC campaign since that same 2016-17 season.
Sitting comfortably in the middle of the GAC standings at 9-9 three games ago has turned into a must-win scenario for the Bisons after dropping its last three, including two one-possession losses. Most recently, Harding lost its home finale against Arkansas-Monticello at the buzzer, 65-63. A win on Saturday will solidify HU's place in the GAC Tournament, while a loss would require a loss from Southern Arkansas and East Central to keep its GAC postseason hopes alive.
Harding is fourth in the league in team three-point field-goal percentage at 37.4 percent. Aiding that cause is Rylie Marshall (42.7%) and Keyln McBride (41.9%) as both guards are among the GAC's top ten in three-point percentage. Marshall has made 60 triples this season, which is sixth in the league. In the season's first meeting with the Reddies, Marshall posted a game-high 23 points while hitting four treys.
