ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – SWOSU saw a 16-point first-half advantage dissipate on Thursday night as Henderson State came from behind to deal the Bulldogs an 84-73 defeat at the Duke Wells Center.
 
At the midway point of the first half, the Bulldogs led 25-9 after Damion Thornton completed a traditional three-point play. Henderson State answered with a 15-2 run to close the game and they finished the half on a 32-8 run to lead 41-33 at the break. SWOSU was undeterred, however, and started the second half the same way they started the first and had the game tied by the 16:21 mark of the second half and they forced six more ties, the final at 66-all with 5:13 to play.
 
Over the final five-plus minutes, however, SWOSU went cold from the field and Henderson State closed the game on an 18-7 run to pull away for the conference victory.
 
Damion Thornton led the Bulldogs with 27 points and eight rebounds while Jaylan Williams added 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range. Chris Braggs, Jr., had 12 points and hit 5-of-6 free throws in the game before fouling out in 20 minutes of action.
 
Now 12-13 on the year and 8-11 in conference play, SWOSU is locked in a three-way tie for eighth place in the Great American Conference standings with three games to play. Next up for the Bulldogs is a visit to Bill Vining Arena in Arkadelphia on Saturday to face Ouachita – one of the teams they are tied with in the standings.