Box Score ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Ouachita Baptist was unable to complete the comeback against Henderson State on Tuesday evening, falling 81-79 inside Bill Vining Arena.

"I loved the effort we had in the second half tonight." Ouachita Baptist head men's basketball coach Dennis Nutt said, "We battled back from 23 points down and made it a close game that we could have won."

With 14:08 left to play in the second half Kaylon Tappin stole the ball away from Jontavis Willis (Strong, Ark.) and dunked the ball looking to silence the Ouachita (6-10, 4-7 GAC) crowd and putting what most audience members saw as an exclamation point towards a Henderson State (9-8, 4-7 GAC) victory.

Slowly, but surely though the Tigers clawed their way back into the game. Sophomore guard Trey Harris (Little Rock, Ark.) lead the offensive surge for the Tigers with 14 second half points. Harris was perfect from three-point range going 4-4 from beyond the arch.

Ouachita as a team in the second half shot 62 percent from the field and went a perfect 8-8 from the three-point line.

"Trey Harris came off the bench and gave our team the spark they needed tonight, to give us a chance to win the game," Nutt replied.

Henderson State opened the game on a 6-0 run before Ouachita responded with an 8-3 run of their own. The Tigers took their only lead of the contest at the 13:28 mark in the opening half of play.

The game was tied at 13 all with 11:03 remaining when Henderson State went on a 10-1 run break open the game.

Wesley Franklin (Frisco, Texas) drove down the left side of the court and dunked over a pair of Reddie defenders. The dunk not only energized the crowd but it also put life back into the Tiger offense. Ouachita was able bring the score to within four with 5:08 remaining in the opening half.

Henderson State ended the first half on a 16-9 run. At the end of the first half Tappin had 12 points, while DJ Franklin added 11 points. The Tigers leading scorer at halftime was Mahlon Martin (Little Rock, Ark.) who had 6 points.

With 3:49 to play in the second half the game was all tied up at 70 after a made free throw by Jordan Corbitt (Frisco, Texas). Henderson State made a three-pointer to take the lead but Kendarious Smith (Canton, Miss.) answered with a mid-range jumper to keep the Tigers within striking distance.

In the final minute of the game Franklin three-pointer from the top of the arch to tie the game at 79-79. Henderson State was content with running down the shot clock but Smith was called for an off-ball foul that sent Tappin to the line.

Tappin sank both free-throws to give the Reddies a two-point lead with 25 seconds remaining. Ouachita setup one final play but turned the ball over in the closing seconds of the contest.

Henderson State had four players end in double figures on the night. Tappin led the way with 25 points, Josh Jones added 18 points, Franklin had 14 points and Chris Parker had 12 points in the contest.

Ouachita had three players with double digit scoring efforts. Harris led the team with 18 points, while Franklin and Smith each contributed 12 points in the contest.

The Tigers will look to get back on the winning track on Thursday evening against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time inside Bill Vining Arena.