ARKADELPHIA, AR - Pink Jones had 16 points but Henderson State fell on Saturday afternoon to East Central, 63-53 in the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia.

The first half was a struggle for the Reddies, as ECU used some strong defense to seize a 16-8 lead after the first quarter. The Tigers extended their lead out to 31-21 with 3:44 left in the second before Henderson cut it back down to an eight point deficit, 35-27, at the halftime break.

HSU opened the second half with a 3-pointer from Hailey Estes and a jumper from Pink Jones to close the gap to 35-32 with 5:40 remaining in the third. ECU kept the Reddies at bay for the rest of the quarter, but Henderson got within striking distance heading into the fourth with the score 44-40.

Henderson cut the lead to just two at the 9:05 mark, but with ECU up 47-44 and 8:33 left, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run over the next five minutes to take control and pull away for a 63-53 win.

Jones led the Reddies with 16 points, while Estes scored nine points and added eight rebounds. HSU won the turnover battle, forcing 14 Tiger turnovers while only committing 11, but shot just 29.6 percent from the floor in defeat. The loss drops the Reddies to 7-8 on the year in Great American Conference play.

The Reddies' next game is Thursday at 5:30 p.m. against UAM in Monticello, Arkansas.