Late Surge Falls Short as Reddies Lose Third Straight

Courtesy HSU Athletics Department

Henderson State suffered its third straight loss as Southwestern Oklahoma held off a late Reddie rally and escape with a 90-84 win, Thursday at the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia, Ark.

With the help of 57 percent shooting in the second-half, SWOSU built a 76-61 lead with 8:13 left in the game.

Henderson State, struggling with its perimeter shooting, turned to a pair of freshmen guards to jump-start the Reddies. 

Brantley Cozart came off the bench and hit back-to-back 3-point field goals, while Peri James added another to help Henderson get within striking distance as the Reddies trailed 84-76 with just under three-minutes remaining. 

The Reddies, 8-6 overall and 3-5 in the Great American Conference, trailed 86-82 with 1:44 to play following a layup and three free throws by Matt Nicholson and another foul shot by James.

The Bulldogs, 7-7 and 6-2, stretched the lead back to six points before Joe McCoy hit a pair of free throws with 53 seconds remaining to make the score 88-84.

However, it was as close as the Reddies would get as they were unable to score the remainder of the game.

In the first-half, Southwestern Oklahoma built an early lead with the help of three consecutive 3-point field goals to make the score 20-11 with 11:14 remaining. During the run, Marin Zelalija hit two treys followed by a trifecta by Rod Camphor. 

The Bulldogs extended their lead to as many as 12 points at 29-17 before the Reddies responded. 

Henderson State was able to get within three points by the end of the half as McCoy scored eight of his 18 points during the final six minutes of the half, while Cory Henshall and Andrew Ensley combined to score 10 points to make the score 43-40 at the break.

The Bulldogs used an 8-for-13 performance from behind the 3-point arc in the half, with Zelalija sinking 5-of-7 treys to end with 17 points in the first 20 minutes.

Aside from McCoy’s solid performance, Ensley scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to record his third straight double-double. Jonathan Fitzgerald added 17 points to go along with 4 assists and 3 steals.

Zelalija used some impressive perimeter shooting to score 25 points hitting on 7-of-10 shots from outside the arc to lead SWOSU. 

Henderson State ended the game hitting on 30-of-63 shots from the field for 48 percent, while the Bulldogs hit on 54 percent from the field making 31-of-57 field goals.

The Reddies will next play host to Northwestern Oklahoma on Saturday with tipoff set for 4 p.m. in the Duke Wells Center.