ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Ouachita Tigers men's basketball team fell to rival Henderson State by a final of 86-82. Lakee Westbrook led Ouachita with a game-high 30 points, shooting 9-15 from the floor and 8-10 from the free-throw line. Justin McCleary finished with 13 points. The loss drops the Tigers to 11-11 overall and 9-9 in the GAC.

After missing their first shot, the Reddies went 8-8 from the floor and opened a 16-8 lead over the Tigers with 13:30 left to play in the opening half. A rebound and a fast-break layup by Mahlon Martin snapped a two-minute scoring drought for Ouachita. They trailed 18-10 with 12:34 to play. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jontavis Willis and Martin pulled Ouachita within four.

The Tigers hit a scoreless drought that spanned three minutes and Henderson State stretched their lead to 28-18 with 7:51 remaining in the first half. Ouachita continued to trail by 10 until late in the first half. A transition layup by Willis cut the Reddie lead to nine, but HSU answered with a three with just over a minute left to play. Martin sank a pair of free throws for the Tigers with three seconds left in the half and Ouachita entered halftime trailing 42-32.

The Reddies shot 59 percent in the first half while the Tigers shot 45 percent. Lakee Westbrook and Martin led Ouachita with nine first half points each. Martin also led the team with four first-half rebounds.

Westbrook scored six of the Tigers first nine points to start the second half.  Neither team could find a rhythm early with nine fouls called in the first five minutes of play. Both teams hit scoreless stretches over the next five minutes but with 9:05 to play, the Tigers trailed by 14, 66-52. The Reddies entered a stretch of 7:04 without a field goal, but the Tigers were unable to close the gap during that stretch.  The Reddies made 14-18 free throws during that span while the Tigers only managed to go 6-11 from the charity stripe.

With 2:11 left to play, Westbrook hit a three from the left wing to cut the Reddies lead to seven, 77-70. McCleary sank a pair of free throws on the next possession and the Tigers trailed by five with 1:27 to play. That stretch capped a 7-0 run for the Tigers. After a pair of free throws from Lopez-Breton the Tigers got the ball back off a turnover. A layup by Westbrook brought Ouachita within two, 80-78 with 23 seconds to play. Westbrook scored the Tigers final six points, but Henderson State would make their free throws down the stretch. The Tigers would fall by the final of 86-82.

The Tigers return to Bill Vining Arena this Thursday, Feb. 16 for their final home game of the season. They will host the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas University. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.