Box score

SEARCY – Senior Jesse Bynum hit a jumper off an offensive rebound as time expired to lead the Harding Bisons to a 64-63 overtime victory over the Christian Brothers Buccaneers at Rhodes Field House on Friday night.

With the win, Harding improved to 12-8 overall and 6-1 to remain atop the Gulf South Conference West lead. Christian Brothers fell to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in conference.

Christian Brother's Justin Ray hit a pair of free throws to give Christian Brothers a 52-48 lead with 2:36 remaining in regulation. Harding scored five unanswered points, all on free throws, and senior Matt Hall gave Harding the lead on a free throw with 37 seconds left.

Kevin Weybright made one of two free throws to tie the game 53-53 with 15 seconds left. Hall missed a jumper as time expired and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, Ray scored two more free throws, giving Christian Brothers a 61-60 lead with 1:13 left. Junior Steven Barnett hit a jumper to put Harding back ahead on the next possession, but Nick Kohs scored on a layup to give the Bucs a 63-62 lead with eight seconds left.

Hall missed a three-pointer from the top of the key, but Bynum secured the offensive rebound from the left block and made an open jumper as time expired to give Harding the victory.

Hall led Harding with 14 points, 12 of them coming after the first half. Freshman Kevin Brown, who fouled out during the overtime period, finished with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Senior Chris Dixon added 10 points.

Kohs led the Bucs with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Couvion and Weybright each scored 14 points for Christian Brothers.

The Bisons trailed the entire first half, falling behind by as many as 10 points. Harding hit only 7-of-23 field goals in the half, including 0-for-6 from three-point range. The Bucs did not shoot particularly well either (10-of-26 FG) but still led 26-16 at halftime.

Harding had been held under 20 points in a half in November when the Bisons scored 19 in the first half against Northeastern State but came back to win 53-48. The last time Harding scored 16 points in a half was in a 2006 loss to Henderson State.

Christian Brother led by a game-high 12 points when Shane Brandon scored a pair of free throws early in the second half to give the Bucs a 28-16 lead, but Harding went on a 12-2 run, capped by sophomore Trent Morgan to cut the lead to 30-28 with 15:47 left in the second half.

The Bisons will play Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday in Monticello, Ark., at 7:30 p.m.