ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Another stellar performance from star freshman Rondae Hill and paint dominance pushes the Reddies past the top seeded Crimson Storm.
 
Freshman Rondae Hill took over once again for the Reddies, scoring a freshman conference high 29 points on 5-8 shooting from distance in just over 40 minutes of play. Hill now holds the first- and second-best scoring games in the conference by a freshman this season. Hill averaged 28.5 points and 3.5 assists this weekend against two of the best teams in the conference.
 
The Reddies came out of the gate on fire, taking a 23-5 lead following a Jamarion Brown basket. Southern Nazarene would not go away quietly, going on a run themselves and trailed by just three going into the half. Hill scored 11 of his 29 in the first half and Jameel Wesley II poured in six points himself. As a team the Reddies connected on five of their nine attempts from deep.
 
Head coach Jimmy Elgas turned towards a double-big man lineup in the second half. Nehikhare Igiehon and Braydon Redd held down the paint for HSU. Henderson State outscored the Crimson Storm 38-26, Igiehon scored 19 points, Redd added 11, and the two were a combined +9 +/- on the night.
 
Late in the second half the Crimson Storm fought their way back and took the lead with 5:41 to go. SNU led for just 2:16 of the game.
 
Tied at 73 Hill made two free throws to give the Reddies a one-point lead. A Hill steal led to an Elgas time out. Out of the timeout Elgas turned to Redd, Redd connected on a layup to extend the lead to three.
 
Igiehon and Hill scored 8 of the 10 points in overtime. Three dunks in overtime, two from Igiehon and one from Tim McDonald were the only three baskets for the Reddies. Four free throws in overtime from Hill secured the win for the Reddies
 
Down the stretch it was free throws that pushed the Reddies past the Crimson Storm. In the final 7:27 of the game the Reddies shot a combined 8/12 from the free throw line while the Crimson Storm shot just 9/18.
 
The Reddies currently sit alone in fifth place in the conference with just two games remaining. The Reddies will close out this four-game home stand versus Arkansas Tech on Thursday and travel to Searcy to play Harding on Saturday.
 
Top Performers:
 
Rondae Hill: 29 pts, 5-8 3PT, and 4 ast.
Nehikhare Igiehon: 19 pts., 6 rbs., and 9-11 FT.
Braydon Redd: 11 pts., 7 rbs., and 4-5 FG.
 
The Reddies will hold senior night on Thursday versus Arkansas Tech at 7:30 p.m., marking the final home game of the 2024-25 season for Henderson State.