State sports briefs

HSU women roll to victory

The Henderson State University women shot 55.9 percent from the floor Thursday and outrebounded Oklahoma Baptist 42-29 to earn an 86-62 victory in Shawnee, Okla. The Reddies were never threatened, scoring 19 points in each of the first three quarters and adding 29 in the fourth quarter. Hailey Estes led Henderson State with 21 points, while Blu Jones scored 16 and Karrington Whaley had 15. Victoria Blankenship scored a game-high 22 points in the loss for Oklahoma Baptist and Autumn Avina added 20. In other Great American Conference women’s games on Thursday, Mackenzie Johnson had a team-high 13 points, but it wasn’t enough as the University of Arkansas at Monticello fell to Southwestern Oklahoma State 79-53 in Weatherford, Okla. … Southeastern Oklahoma State outscored Arkansas Tech University 23-9 in the second quarter to turn a two-point lead into a comfortable 80-59 victory in Durant, Okla. … GAC Co-Player of the Week Kellie Lampo led Harding University with 17 points and 16 rebounds in a 75-66 loss to East Central (Okla.) in Ada, Okla. … Northwestern Oklahoma State held Southern Arkansas University to single-digit scoring in both the second and third quarters on the way to a 92-56 victory in Alva, Okla. … Alivia Huell scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as Ouachita Baptist University lost to Southern Nazarene 74-55 in Bethany, Okla.

ATU men get tough road loss

Southeastern Oklahoma State used an 8-0 run in the second half to build an 85-77 lead, but Arkansas Tech fought to cut the lead to two before a three-pointer by D.J. Henderson gave the Savage Storm a 90-86 victory over the Wonder Boys in Durant, Okla. Southeastern’s Myles Nesbitt scored on a layup to tie the game at 77-77 with 7:07 left before the Savage Storm went on its run. R.J. Glasper nearly brought the Wonder Boys back single-handedly, hitting two free throws and two layups before Will Adler’s three-pointer cut the lead to 87-86 with 39 seconds left. Henderson’s three-pointer came with 7 seconds remaining and Glasper’s three-point attempt missed to end the game. Glasper led Arkansas Tech with 25 points and Adler added 23. In other Great American Conference men’s games Thursday, four University of Arkansas at Monticello players scored 10 or more points in a 67-65 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Okla. … Matt Stanley had 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Eric Brown added 12 points and Grant Jones had 10 as Ouachita Baptist University fell to Southern Nazarene 64-58 in Bethany, Okla. … Devante Brooks, Jalen Brooks and Snyder Cenecharles all scored 12 points to lead Southern Arkansas University to a 75-63 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, Okla. … Four Harding University players scored 10 or more points, but it wasn’t enough as Camron Talley scored a game-high 28 points for East Central (Okla.) in an 82-74 victory over the Bisons in Ada, Okla. … Josh Jones scored a team-high 16 points and three other Henderson State University players scored 10 or more, but the Reddies fell to Oklahoma Baptist 89-77 in Shawnee, Okla. — Democrat-Gazette Press Services

FOOTBALL UCA hires Scales as safeties coach

The University of Central Arkansas announced Thursday that it has hired former Arkansas State University defensive back Chaz Scales as its safeties coach. Scales was a part of two Sun Belt Conference title-winning Red Wolves teams from 2009-12. A native of Nashville, Tenn., Scales will return to Arkansas from Tusculum University, where he served as defensive backs coach since the spring of 2017. “I love to get back into Arkansas,” Scales said. “When I played college ball in Arkansas, it was great. It just seemed like football actually meant something to the fans.” The Bears elevated former safeties coach Chad Williams to defensive coordinator on Dec. 22 after former defensive coordinator Max Thurmond left to become linebackers coach at North Carolina-Charlotte. Scales made his coaching debut as a graduate assistant at West Georgia, two years after his final season in Jonesboro in 2012. “He has a great knowledge of the state of Arkansas after having a great playing career at Arkansas State in Jonesboro,” UCA Coach Nathan Brown said in a news release. “He is also originally from the Nashville area, which is an area we have continued to grow in recruiting.” Before his stop at Tusculum, Scales served as running backs coach at Northeast Mississippi Community College in 2016.