ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — No. 9 Henderson State fell victim to turnovers and No. 20 Harding's triple option attack on Saturday, as the Bisons defeated the Reddies 46-21 at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and Ruggles Field.

With the loss, Henderson (6-1) drops into a tie for first place in the GAC standings with four games remaining in the regular season.

The Reddies, who led the conference in turnover margin entering the game, committed three on Saturday — two of which came in the first half. Harding took advantage of an interception and fumble, and also blocked a punt for a safety, to hold a 22-7 advantage at the break.

After scoring with seconds on the clock to end the second quarter, the Bisons received the ball to start the third and cashed in on a six-play, 56-yard scoring drive to increase their lead to 29-7. 

An HSU three-and-out on its ensuing possession put the ball back in the hands of Harding's offense, which quickly scored again on a 70-yard touchdown run.

Henderson got a touchdown from Adam Morse in the third quarter and another from L'liott Curry late, but could not dig out of the hole and dropped its first contest of the year.

Morse led the Reddies with 231 yards and a touchdown through the air, as well as two rushing scores. Curry caught nine passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

The Harding rushing attack hurt HSU and finished with 438 yards on the ground. The Bisons' defense limited Henderson to 356 yards of offense and a season-low 21 points.

The Reddies will look to bounce back next Saturday at 2 p.m. when they travel to Russellville, Arkansas to take on Arkansas Tech.