Box Score

SEARCY – Harding had its best offensive outing of the season Saturday at the Rhodes Field House and defeated Central Baptist 97-76 in its only home game in the month of December. The Bisons had six players with 10 or more points, led by senior Trent Morgan with 15. Kevin Brown had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Harding (6-2) led 44-35 at halftime and blew the game open by shooting 71 percent (20-of-28) in the second half. Central Baptist (8-4) lost for the seventh straight time in Searcy.

Harding will play its next three games on the road over a four-day span from Dec. 19-22. The Bisons open the road trip against Alabama-Huntsville. The game will be played at Huntsville High School because UAH's graduation ceremonies will be held in Spraggins Hall.

The Bisons' previous best offensive output of the season was an 89-38 blowout of Champion Baptist. But a strong inside game—Harding outscored Central Baptist 52-24 in the paint—allowed the Bisons to eclipse that figure.

Morgan connected on 4-of-6 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. He also had three steals, moving him into third place on the Harding career steals list with 151. Morgan passed Aaron Farley and Shannon Hughes on Saturday night.

Sophomore Kirk Porter added 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Porter was coming off a career-high 23 points in his last outing against St. Edward's. Matt Ragsdale and Matt Garner both scored 11 points and Bradley Spencer scored a career-high 10 points.

C.J. McCoy and Ryan Barnes each led Central Baptist with 17 points. McCoy added a game-high 10 rebounds.

Harding shot 55 percent from the field and made 26-of -30 free throw attempts. Central Baptist shot 44 percent.