Box Score

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Harding rallied for 15 points to take a lead in the fourth quarter Saturday, but the Bisons could not finish, losing 33-32 to Henderson State at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.

Harding (2-8, 1-6 Gulf South Conference) has won only four games in 24 trips to Carpenter-Haygood Stadium. The Bisons have lost five games by eight or few points, and for the second consecutive week, Harding lost by three points or less after falling to Arkansas Monticello 46-43 in the home finale.

Henderson State took a 19-17 lead on a safety and scored a touchdown on a 8-yard run by Bernard Palmer to take a 26-17 lead with 11:59 left in the fourth quarter, its largest lead of the game.

Freshman Jeremy Holt caught one of his school-record 14 passes for a 10-yard touchdown from David Knighton as the Bisons narrowed the score to 26-24 with 9:54 remaining in the game.

On the Reddies following drive, Bison senior Patrick Nicks intercepted a pass at Harding's 22-yard line. It was Harding's fourth interception of the game; which was the first four-interception game by the Bisons since 2006.

Junior Zac Ross, normally a wide recevier, lined up as quarterback once the Bisons approached Henderson State's goal line on the following drive. Ross rushed for an 11-yard touchdown and passed to Kurt Adams on the two-point conversion to give Harding a 32-26 lead with 7:19 remaining.

The Bisons had a chance to go ahead by two scores, but senior Ryan Ferrell missed a 29-yard field goal with 1:58 remaining in the game, giving Henderson State a final chance to take the lead. Earlier in the game, Ferrell had broken the Harding season record with his 16th field goal of the season.

Henderson State ran down the clock and scored on a 5-yard run by Roch Charpentier with 18 seconds left, and the Bisons could not score in the few seconds that remained.

Knighton completed 39 of 74 passes, which broke Luke Cullins' 1999 school record of 68 passing attempts, broke the GSC record and was tied for the third-most attempts in NCAA Division II history. He ended with 384 yards and two touchdowns, which left him 45 yards shy of 10,000 career passing yards.

Junior wide receiver Kurt Adams became the second Harding receiver with more than 1,000 yards in a season. He caught five passes for 74 yards, which is only 18 yards shy of Gerald Payne's season record set in 2000.

Harding finished the game with 100 plays on offense, the second time this season that the Bisons have finished with 100 or more plays.

Nicks and sophomore Jason Thomasson each finished with 10 tackles. Redshirt freshman Luke Tribble collected his first career interception and returned the ball 29 yards. Seniors Carren Newson and Tracy Brown also had an interception.

Harding will finish its season next week against Arkansas Tech at Russellville, Ark., beginning at 3 p.m.