Box Score

SEARCY — The Harding Bisons fell behind Christian Brothers from the start and could never catch up, losing 77-67 at the Rhodes Field House on Thursday night.

The Bisons upset Christian Brothers in their first meeting of the season 75-74 in overtime on a three-pointer by junior Trent Morgan, but Harding (15-9, 5-6 Gulf South Conference) could not recapture that same late-game magic on Thursday.

Harding struggled in the opening minutes on offense, turning the ball over five times in the first five minutes. The Bisons did not score a field goal until Kevin Brown made a layup with 14:03 left in the first half to cut Christian Brothers lead to 7-5.

Christian Brothers (20-4, 9-2) had extended its lead to 35-26 by halftime.

“We played hard at times, but we just got off to a bad start,” Harding Coach Jeff Morgan said.

Christian Brothers led by as many as 16 points in the second half. Harding was able to close the lead to 71-64 on a three-pointer by senior Steven Barnett with 1:19 left, but the Bisons could not churn out a last-minute rally.

Barnett led the Bisons with a career-high 20 points, although he collected his fourth personal foul early in the second half and sat on the bench for a few minutes.

“It hurt us when he got in foul trouble and couldn't be out there,” Morgan said. “Steve's our leader out on the court. He's our guy.”

Redshirt freshman Kirk Porter scored 10 points for the Bisons. Porter and sophomore Kevin Brown each had six rebounds to lead Harding.

A bulk of Christian Brothers' offense was supplied by Nick Kohs and Reggie Peyton. Kohs scored 28 points and had 12 rebounds, and Peyton added 17 points.

A combined 59 fouls were called in the game, and the teams took 85 free throws. Harding made 26 of 43 shots (60.5 percent).

Harding will play Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday in Monticello, Ark., beginning at 7:30 p.m..