CONWAY - Hendrix men's basketball returned to Grove Gymnasium on Friday night versus the Berry Vikings in a showdown of two teams on opposite ends of the SAA standings. Berry would go on to defeat the Warriors 78-56.

The two teams traded baskets in the opening three minutes. With the Vikings leading 8-7, Hendrix rattled off 7 unanswered points with Carson Bower's triple putting Hendrix up 14-8. It would turn out to be Hendrix's largest lead of the night. The Warriors took a 19-14 lead midway through the half before Berry responded with a 20-0 scoring run that was part of a 26-7 run to close the first half.

Hendrix (2-16, 0-5 SAA) trailed by 17 just under midway through the second half, but Jaxon Herrera's long ball at the 9:40 mark cut Berry's lead to 10. The Warriors were able to keep Berry within arm's reach for a couple minutes before the Vikings were able to put away the game for good down the stretch.

Tyler Deithloff led the Warriors with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Colten Berry finished in double figures as well with 11 points. Of note, Caleb Squires made his long-awaited return after missing much of the first half of the season due to injury.

Hendrix will remain at home to host Oglethorpe on Sunday for a 2:00 PM tip-off as they continue to chase their first conference win of the season.