SEARCY – Henderson State junior guard Melvin Haynes scored 20 points and made a key 3-pointer down the stretch to lead the Reddies to a 70-68 victory over Harding on Thursday in Great American Conference action at Rhodes Field House.

Harding (17-6, 10-5 GAC) lost at home for the first time in 13 games this season and fell into a tie with Arkansas Tech for first place in the GAC standings. Henderson State (11-10, 6-9) won at Rhodes for the first time since 2007.

Harding tied the game for the seventh time with 3:10 left on a pair of Tony Cochran free throws that made the score 62-62. The Bisons took the lead on their next trip as Zach Roddenberry made the first of two free throws.

Haynes then made his fourth 3-pointer of the game to give Henderson State a 65-63 lead with 2:43 left. Harding never retook the lead despite pulling within one point on a Cochran 3-pointer with 1:49 left and two Roddenberry free throws with 0:26 left. The free throws trimmed Henderson State's lead to 69-68.

Harding fouled Andrew Ensley with 16 seconds remaining, and he made the second of two free throws. The Bisons struggled to get into their offense on the final possession, and Bradley Spencer's desperation 3-pointer was short.

Harding's 12 straight home wins to open the season broke the previous record of 11 reached twice in program history.

Junior Hayden Johnson led Harding with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting but fouled out with 2:06 left. Roddenberry added 17 points and Cochran scored 11.

Harding shot 51.2 percent but had a season-low 41 field goal attempts.

The Bisons return to action Saturday in Arkadelphia, Ark., against Ouachita Baptist. Tipoff at Vining Arena will be at 4 p.m.