Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Henderson State staged a furious rally late in the fourth quarter, forced overtime against Arkansas-Monticello and pulled out an improbable 89-83 victory in Friday’s second Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championships quarterfinal from Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
The Reddies (21-8) trailed the Weevils (19-13) by eight points with 1:28 remaining following a breakaway layup by Marcus Gilbert. Raekwon Rogers put back an offensive rebound to trim the deficit to six. After a missed free throw, Rel Johnson stuck home a layup to bring the Reddies to within four.
 
Following a turnover, Chris Parker converted two free throws to close the Weevil lead to 71-69. The Reddie defense forced Gilbert into an air ball. In transition Parker found Rogers for the tying basket. On UAM’s final possession of regulation, Rogers blocked Gilbert’s layup and Justin Slocum missed a put back in the waning seconds.
 
The Reddies carried the momentum into the extra session as they scored the first nine points to extend their overall run to 17-0. A dunk by Rogers put an exclamation point on the run. Arkansas-Monticello never drew closer than four points the rest of the contest.
 
Rogers paced Henderson State with 22 points and 15 points as he registered his sixth double-double of the season. Parker, a First-Team All-GAC guard, added 19 and Johnson scored 15. The Weevils’ KJ Lesure scored a game-high 29 points. He went 7-for-14 from the 3-point arc. Gilbert scored 19 and Denzel McDuffey contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Henderson state will take on Southeastern Oklahoma State in Saturday’s 2:15 PM semifinal contest in a matchup featuring two of the Central Region’s top 10 teams. The Reddies entered the week ranked ninth while the Savage Storm placed third in Wednesday’s release. During the regular season, the Reddies claimed a 67-63 at home on January 25. The Savage Storm salvaged a split with an 81-79 win on the final Thursday of the regular season.