Box Score
SEARCY – Arkansas-Monticello shot 60% from the field for the game, including 74% in the second half, and defeated Harding 88-68, Monday at the Rhodes Field House. It was the highest shooting percentage against the Bisons this season.
Harding (12-9, 3-7 Gulf South Conference) dropped its third straight conference game, while Arkansas-Monticello (15-7, 8-3) won its fifth consecutive. The Boll Weevils entered the game ranked fourth in the latest NCAA II South Region poll.
After trailing 34-26 at halftime, Harding cut the lead to three at 42-39 following a Nate Newell technical foul. With Newell, the team’s leading scorer coming in to Monday's game, on the bench, UAM went on a 21-6 run over the next five minutes. Former All-America forward Billy McDaniel scored 14 of his game-high 29 points during that stretch.
Junior forward Patrick Andrepont came off the bench to lead the Bisons with 20 points. It was his second straight game with 20 or more points and his fourth of the season. Lonnie Smith added 14 points and Alassane Savadogo had 13 and a team-high seven rebounds.
With the loss, Harding likely needs to win each of its last six games to be assured a spot in the Gulf South Conference Tournament. The Bisons will begin that journey Thursday night, hosting Southern Arkansas at the Rhodes Field House.
