BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — On a day where its defense controlled the game, Henderson State weathered a huge rally late from No. 4 seed Oklahoma Baptist to win the 2020 Great American Conference Tournament Championship, 72-61.
The win gives the Reddies (23-8) their first GAC title in men's basketball, their first league championship overall since 2002-03, and punches their ticket to the NCAA DII Tournament as the league's automatic bid. HSU will learn its seed and opponent tonight at 9:30 p.m. during the NCAA DII Selection Show. The Reddies are set to return to the Duke Wells Center around 10:30 p.m. tonight and fans are encouraged to greet the team upon their arrival.
Oklahoma Baptist entered Sunday's final shooting 54% over its first two games of the weekend but was held to 33.3% shooting by the Reddies' defense. The Bison were just 20-for-60 from the floor which included a mark of 29.6% in the first half. On the other side, Henderson had its best shooting game of the tournament and connected on 52.9% of its looks.
It was a dream start for the Reddies in the title game, as eight early points from Mike Fofana helped power Henderson to a 19-7 lead in the first seven minutes. HSU opened the game shooting over 60% from the floor but cooled off after going up by 12 points. The Reddies scored just four points over the next eight minutes, and were 1-of-8 from the field in that stretch, as the Bison whittled the deficit down to just 23-21 at the 4:41 mark.
After losing the stroke offensively, Henderson regrouped down the stretch of the half and finished the pivotal final four minutes on a 12-4 run to take a 35-25 lead at the break. Raekwon Rogers gave HSU momentum heading into the locker room with a contested layup that dropped through as the buzzer sounded.
The Bison came out looking for a run and trimmed the deficit down to 44-37 at the 14:07 mark of the second half. The Reddies had an answer, as an Anthony Lupardus 3-pointer capped a quick 6-1 run that restored a 50-38 advantage. After turning away the first OKBU rally, Henderson was able to extend its lead and took its largest advantage of the game, 64-48, on five-straight points from Chris Parker with 7:30 remaining.
Just when it looked like the Reddies might have taken an insurmountable lead, the lid went onto the basket for HSU and came off of it for Oklahoma Baptist. Needing a furious comeback, the Bison got just that, and scored 13-straight points over the next five minutes to trim the lead down to 64-61 with 2:30 to play and put all the pressure on Henderson.
Suddenly in a tight game for the first time since the opening half, it was the Reddies' defense that rose to the occasion once again with the league title on the line. After giving up the 13-0 run, Henderson did not allow the Bison to score in the final 2:30 of the game. OKBU was 0-for-6 from the field in that stretch, as HSU got a big bucket from Fofana, as well as clutch free throws from Parker and Lupardus, to pull away for good and claim the program's first championship in 17 years.
Parker and Fofana led the way for Henderson with 14 points apiece, while Lupardus finished with a tournament-high 12 and Rel Johnson had 11. Parker was named the GAC Tournament MVP and both Johnson and Rogers were named to the All-Tournament Team. Nine different Reddies scored in the win. HSU out-scored OKBU 21-4 in fast break points and 36-14 on points in the paint.
