Reddies Begin Pivotal Portion of GAC Schedule
Feb. 10, 2016
by Troy Mitchell


With seven games remaining on the Great American Conference's regular season slate, Henderson State begins a pivotal part of its schedule beginning with a matchup against Southern Arkansas on Thursday at the Duke Wells Center with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.       

The Reddies, 5-15 overall and 4-11 in the GAC are two games out of eighth place in the league standings. The top eight teams advance to the GAC Tournament in Bartlesville beginning March 3.           

Henderson is coming off a pair of road losses in Oklahoma, but the Reddies play five of their remaining games at home.

Henderson will have to get its offense on track as the Reddies have averaged just 59 points in the last five games while shooting just 36 percent from the field (98-of-274) and 22 percent from beyond the arc (21-of-94).

Kaylon Tappin leads the Reddies in scoring averaging 14.3 points per contest. Tappin scored 24 points last Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma. The sophomore from Little Rock scored 17 points in the first game against SAU.

Kevin Kozan follows averaging 13.1 points per contest. Kozan totaled 13 points a month ago against the Muleriders.      

SAU (11-10, 8-7 GAC) is currently in sixth-place in league play.

This season the Muleriders have benefitted from five double-figure scorers, led by Jaron Davis' 14.6 points per game. Davis was one of five players to score in double-figures in the first game against the Reddies with 11.

CJ Elkins and Deon Andrews average over 11 points per game, while Denarious Lockhart and Alvin Braddock chip in at a clip of 10 points per game. Elkins totaled 12 points back in January against HSU.                 

Braddock paces the GAC in shooting percentage at a clip of 61 percent from the floor and also ranks eighth in the league in rebounds per game, bringing down an average of 6.5 boards per game. He totaled 11 points and had 5 rebounds earlier against HSU.

Keeton Tennison leads the SAU attack from beyond the arc shooting 46 percent. Tennison led SAU in the first game with 17 points including going 4-for-4 from 3-point range.

Henderson leads the all-time series with the Southern Arkansas having a 102-70 advantage in a series which dates back to 1926. The Reddies have won five of the last seven meetings. HSU has a 5-6 record in GAC contests against the Muleriders.
Thursday's double-header will be carried on 106.9 FM KYXK Arkadelphia/Gurdon with R.J. Hawk (@RJHawk) providing the play-by-play. Former Reddie player and coach Grady Bean will provide the color commentary for the men's game.
 
The Domino's pregame show will air 5:15 p.m. with the women's game set for 5:30 p.m.

Live stats, audio and video streaming will also be available via the HSU Athletics website at www.hsusports.com.