REDDIES REPORT
Two of Franck Kamgain’s 13 points against the Boll Weevils came with 17 seconds remaining in regulation as the Kansas City, Missouri native’s late-game heroics helped HSU defeat UAM, 66-65. Henderson shot a season-high 54.3 percent from the field as Malik Riddle and Tomislav Miholjcic spearheaded the efficiency efforts, going 7-of-9 (77.8%) and 5-of-6 (83.3%) from the field, respectively.
Riddle’s 16 points was a season-high for the graduate student guard Saturday. During the first 13 games of the season, the former Morehead St. transfer averaged 8.5 points and was shooting 30.8 percent from the field. In the last three contests, he is averaging 15 points and shooting at a 53.1 percent clip. An area where Riddle has been consistent all season has been at the free-throw line, where he is shooting a team-high 82.1 percent.
Henderson St. is making 5.5 three-pointers per game this season, which is 10th in the conference. That average has served as a good barometer for HSU this season. In games where the Reddies have made six or more three-pointers, they are 5-1. When making five or less, they are 3-7. Ouachita Baptist is allowing 7.4 made triples per game.
Saturday’s victory improved the Reddies to 5-5 in conference play as they are tied for sixth in the league standings with none other than Ouachita Baptist. The next six days will feature three opponents who are all either tied or within one game of HSU on either side in league play, all of which will be played away from the Duke Wells Center, where Henderson is 3-4.
The Reddies have not lost to their arch-rival since the 2017-18 season and haven’t dropped a road game to OUA since the year prior in 2016-17, although the last four meetings have all been decided by single digits. In head coach Jimmy Elgas’ time at Henderson, the Reddies have won five in a row across the street and nine straight overall. In the all-time series, HSU holds the narrow edge, 108-107.
SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST
The Tigers have had their own fair share of close games recently, with their last four times out on the court having been decided by eight points or less. Ouachita came away winners in three of those four while losing its most recent contest at Arkansas Tech, 64-58. The purple-and-gold have been much better at home than on the road this season, holding a 5-2 record compared to 2-4 and 0-1 in neutral site games.
Ouachita Baptist boasts three players who are among the Top-15 scoring leaders in the GAC. Ma’Darius Hobson leads the trio with 15.2 points per game while shooting 50.3 percent from the field. Tylar Haynes, the team’s second leading scorer at 14.1 points, paces the Tigers with 6.5 rebounds per game. Head coach Dennis Nutt has five guys who are averaging over 24.5 minutes per game, while HSU has only three guys seeing the same amount of time.
As a team, Ouachita Baptist is eighth in the conference in both scoring offense (71.3 points per game) and scoring defense (73.1 ppg). Henderson St. is 10th in scoring offense (69.2) and fifth in scoring defense (68.1). The Tigers are last in the GAC in opponent field-goal percentage (48.7) and second-to-last in opponent three-point field-goal percentage (37.5). In the case of a close game, OUA is shooting 75.2 percent from the free-throw line while HSU is shooting 71.0 percent.
