MAGNOLIA, Ark. — A furious second-half rally from Henderson State came up just short on Saturday afternoon as the Reddies fell to Southern Arkansas on the road 66-61.

The loss drops HSU to 11-7 overall and 7-5 in Great American Conference play.

Jameel Wesley II had a career-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting to lead the scoring for the Reddies. Chase Farmer and Nehikhare Igiehon, who both finished with 11 points, were the only other players in double figures for Henderson.

The Reddies trailed 35-25 at the half in Magnolia and fell behind by as many as 18 points in the second half, but refused to go away quietly. Trailing 49-31 with 13:27 remaining, Henderson began to chip away and used a 28-12 run over the next 11 minutes to trim the deficit down to 61-59 with 1:44 remaining.

HSU forced a missed shot on the next Southern Arkansas possession, but the Muleriders came away with the offensive rebound which led to a second-chance basket to make it 65-61 with just under a minute left.

After a quick layup from Wesley II cut the lead back to a bucket at 63-61, Henderson elected to play out the final defensive possession without fouling with 35 seconds to go. The Muleriders made them pay in the final seconds, however, as Nevi Tell hit an open 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down to effectively ice the game.

Henderson won the rebounding battle 34-29, but shot just 39 percent from the floor in defeat. Fifteen turnovers also plagued the Reddies, leading to a 19-8 Mulerider advantage in points off of turnovers.

HSU returns to action at home on Thursday, January 30, when it hosts East Central at 7:30 p.m.