Box Score

SEARCY — The Harding Bisons tied the game with a minute remaining but could not take the lead, falling to the Delta State Statesmen 72-70 at Rhodes Field House on Thursday night.

Harding (12-7, 2-4 Gulf South Conference) trailed by as many as eight points in the second half, but senior Steven Barnett hit a free throw to tie the game 70-70 with 1:07 remaining. Barnett missed the second free throw, and senior Brian Howard grabbed the offensive rebound but missed the putback.

Oliver Mansour scored a layup to give Delta State (14-5, 4-2) the lead with 38 seconds left, allowing Harding enough time for an attempt to tie the game or take the lead. Sophomore Sam Brown missed a three-pointer, and Alton Robinson blocked a shot by Howard. Harding retained possession on the block out of bounds, but Barnett missed a layup in traffic with three seconds remaining.

“We're growing as a team, we're battling hard, and sooner or later we're going to win one of these,” Harding coach Jeff Morgan said.

In the end, the Bisons could not convert from the free-throw line. Harding has relied on free throw shooting to remain in contention in most games this season, having shot almost 100 more free throws than its opponents.

On Thursday, Harding hit only 27 of 41 shots (65.9 percent), missing 13 of the shots in the second half.

“That's a killer — it stops you from making runs and getting back in the game,” Morgan said.

Delta State had taken a 31-27 lead on a free throw by Eric Spencer with 3:13 left in the first half. Brown made two free throws and hit a layup to tie the game 31-31 at halftime.

Brown and Morgan each scored 13 points to lead the Bisons. Barnett collected 8 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

While Harding has often been outsized by opponents this season, including Thursday, the Bisons held the advantage in rebounding against Delta State 46-43. Harding finished with 22 offensive rebounds, and Howard led the team with nine total rebounds.

“To get 22 offensive rebounds, that's hard work; that's guts,” Morgan said.

Chad Akins made 3 of 4 three-pointers and led Delta State with 22 points. Alton Robinson added 18 points and 8 rebounds.