Henderson State University Athletics

FINALS: (3) HENDERSON STATE 72, (4) OKLAHOMA BAPTIST 61 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
SEMIFINALS: (3) HENDERSON STATE 76, (2) SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 73 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
QUARTERFINALS: (3) HENDERSON STATE 89, (6) ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 83 (OT) | RECAP | BOX SCORE

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Entering the 2019-20 season, it had been 17 years since Henderson State had won a conference title in men’s basketball. That streak ended when head coach Jimmy Elgas and the Reddies captured the 2020 Great American Conference Tournament Championship in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on March 6-8, 2020.

The Reddies, who finished the season 23-8 overall and 15-7 in conference play, earned the No. 3 seed in the eight-team conference tournament, but drew a difficult first round matchup against No. 6 seed Arkansas-Monticello, who was the only school in the league to defeat Henderson twice in the regular season. 

The tough matchup on paper came to fruition in the quarterfinals, as UAM led 42-35 at halftime and by as many as 11 points with just over four minutes to play. Still trailing 71-63 with less than 1:30 remaining in regulation, Henderson put together its most improbable rally of the year, and out-scored the Weevils 8-0 in the final minute of the game to tie the score at 71-71 and send the game into overtime. The momentum continued for the Reddies in the extra period, as they scored the first nine points of overtime to pull away for a dramatic 89-83 win.

After completing a stunning comeback against UAM, the path did not get any easier for HSU in the semifinals, where it faced No. 2 seed Southeastern Oklahoma State, the GAC’s preseason favorite and the No. 2 ranked team in the Central Region. Henderson and Southeastern had played just one week earlier in the NCAA’s DII Game of the Week, where SOSU came out on top 81-79 in overtime.

For the second-straight contest, the Reddies found themselves needing to rally, as the Savage Storm held the lead at the half and a 64-56 advantage with under seven minutes remaining. Henderson rose to the occasion once again, and ended the game on a 20-9 run to surge in front in the final seconds and capture a 76-73 victory. The second heart-stopping win in as many days propelled the Reddies into the GAC title game for just the second time ever.

One win away from completing its dream season, Henderson was faced with arguably the hottest team in the league in the GAC Championship game: No. 4 seed Oklahoma Baptist. The Bison entered Sunday’s finale having won eight-straight games and 10 of their last 11 overall. OKBU was also coming off of its two best shooting games of the entire season in quarterfinal and semifinal victories.

Despite Oklahoma Baptist’s recent success, it was the Reddies who came out on fire in the title game, as their stingy defense helped them control the contest from the opening tip and secure a 35-25 lead at halftime. Henderson continued to keep OKBU at an arms length for the majority of the second period and opened up its largest lead of the game, 64-48, with 7:30 remaining. 

The Bison refused to go away, however, and put together a huge 13-0 run over the next five minutes to cut the Reddies’ advantage down to just 64-61 with 2:30 left to play. In a tight game for the first time since the opening half, it was the Reddies' defense that rose to the occasion once again with the league title on the line. After giving up the big run, Henderson did not allow OKBU to score for the rest of the game and hit clutch free throws down the stretch to pull away for a 72-61 win and the program’s first men’s basketball championship since 2002-03.

The Reddies had three players named to the GAC All-Tournament Team: senior guard Rel Johnson, junior forward Raekwon Rogers, and junior guard Chris Parker, who was also named the Tournament MVP.