Henderson State claims GAC title

Chris Parker and Mike Fofana each scored 14 points as Henderson State University downed Oklahoma Baptist 72-61 in the Great American Conference Tournament Championship Game on Sunday afternoon in Bartlesville, Okla.

Henderson State (23-8) will be the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Division II and will play conference-rival Southern Nazarene (24-8) in Maryville, Mo., on Saturday. It will be the third time this season that the Reddies and Savage Storm have played. Henderson State won in Arkadelphia 74-55 on Jan. 4, and Southern Nazarene won at Bethany, Okla., 71-67 on Jan. 30.

Parker, the tournament’s MVP, hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 2:17 to help cut short a comeback attempt by the Bison, who trailed 35-25 at the half and never held a lead. The Reddies’ biggest lead (62-46) came with 7:41 remaining. Oklahoma Baptist got back to within 64-61 with 2:30 left, but the Reddies scored the game’s final eight points.

Henderson hit 27 of 51 (52.9%) shots from the floor and was 7 of 16 (43.8%) from beyond the arc. Oklahoma Baptist (22-9) struggled from the floor, hitting 20 of 60 (33.3%) and 10 of 34 (29.4%) of its three-point attempts.

The Reddies overcame a 27-point performance from 5-9 guard Rashad Lewis, who was 9 of 17 from the floor and came up with a game-high five steals.

Anthony Lupardus added 12 points for Henderson State while Rel Johnson scored 11. Raekwon Rogers led the Reddies in rebounding with nine. Parker led Henderson with five assists while Fofana grabbed eight rebounds.