Reddies hold off Arkansas Tech, 82-78
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State did not hit a shot from the floor in the final seven minutes on Thursday night, but went 20-of-23 from the line and fended off a late Arkansas Tech rally to hold on for an 82-78 win at the Duke Wells Center.
Raekwon Rogers led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Damian Dear added 16 points — all of which came in the second half — while Malik Riddle had 15 and Xavier Davenport tied a career-high with 11.
The Reddies (2-3) got going early at home and scored the game’s first seven points en route to a 23-12 lead at the 10:45 mark. Rogers had 11 of those points for HSU and made his first five shots from the floor.
After a strong start, Henderson was suddenly bitten by cold shooting over the next six minutes. The Wonder Boys took full advantage, and capped off a 16-3 run with back-to-back banked in 3-pointers to surge in front 28-26 with 4:41 to go until the break. The Reddies were just 1-of-8 from the field during the big Tech run.
Needing a spark, HSU got one from Riddle, who scored eight points and banged home two 3-pointers down the stretch of the period to help the Reddies regain a 41-38 lead at the half. ATU shot 50% from the floor and hit eight 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.
Henderson opened the second half on fire and hit eight of its first 11 shots to power a 19-9 run and jump out to its largest lead, 60-47. Tech responded, however, and held the Reddies scoreless for the next three minutes to close the gap to 6055 with 10 minutes to go in the game.
With the score tight once again, it was Dear’s turn to give the Reddies a lift. The junior from Jackson, Mississippi knocked down two 3-pointers, and capitalized on a steal with a layup, to punctuate a 13-6 run and give Henderson a 73-61 advantage with 7:32 remaining.
Although the lead grew to as many as 13 on two different occasions for HSU, one final cold spell threatened to derail a contest the Reddies had controlled throughout. Dear’s 3-pointer at the 7:32 mark proved to be Henderson’s final basket from the floor, which allowed Arkansas Tech to gradually creep its way back into the game.
Tech, who trailed 76-63 with 4:38 left, used a 15-4 run to cut the deficit down to just 80-78 with 12 seconds to go. With its back suddenly against the wall, Henderson leaned on Dear once again, who knocked down two clutch free throws in the final seconds to seal it for the Reddies and help HSU hold on for a closer-than-expected win.
HSU shot 56% in the second half in spite of the scoring drought late and was excellent from the stripe all night — an area where Arkansas Tech struggled to the tune of 9-for17 in the game. Henderson led for over 38 minutes in the victory.
The Reddies next contest comes on Saturday when they travel to Magnolia, Arkansas to face Southern Arkansas at 2 p.m.
Arkansas Tech will now return to Tucker Coliseum for a Saturday afternoon meeting with Arkansas-Monticello. Tipoff for the game with the Boll Weevils will be 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Golden Suns’ game with the Cotton Blossoms.