SEARCY – Junior Kevin Brown scored 16 points and junior Stephen Blake and senior Trent Morgan added 15 each to lead Harding to a 67-60 victory over Southern Arkansas on Monday at the Rhodes Field House. The Gulf South Conference game was originally scheduled for last Thursday but was postponed due to travel difficulties caused by the icy weather conditions.

With the win, Harding (11-11) moved into a tie with Southern Arkansas at 4-6 for fifth place in the GSC West Division. The Bisons and Muleriders are both one game behind Christian Brothers for the fourth and final GSC Tournament spot. Harding travels to Memphis to meet Christian Brothers on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Southern Arkansas (9-14) committed 31 fouls in the game, the most by a Harding opponent this season. Harding shot 34-of-53 from the foul line, outscoring Southern Arkansas by 23 points at the stripe. The Muleriders made only 11-of-22 free throws. Harding's 53 attempts were the most ever by a Bison team in a GSC game and were the most in any game in more than 14 seasons. Harding shot 55 free throws against Drury in 1996.

In the first half, Harding made only 3-of-14 from the field with all three field goals coming from Kevin Brown. The rest of the team shot 0-for-10. Despite the poor shooting, Harding only trailed 30-22 at halftime thanks to 16-of-23 shooting at the foul line.

The Bisons quickly erased the Mulerider lead in the second half. Harding went on an 11-2 run to open the half and took their first lead since the nine-minute mark of the first half on a Kevin Brown layup with 14:11 remaining that put the Bisons ahead 33-32.

After the teams traded baskets, Blake nailed a three-pointer to put the Bisons up 39-37. Harding maintained the lead until a 6-0 Southern Arkansas run tied the game at 59-all with 2:22 left. The Bisons scored the next five points and led by at least four the rest of the way.

Harding's defense had 16 steals in the game, led by Bradley Spencer's four. Morgan had three steals for the Bisons, moving him past Corey Camper (1986-90) for second in career steals with 175. He also ranks sixth in steals in GSC history.

David Noble connected on 8-of-12 shots for Southern Arkansas and led the Muleriders with 20 points. Tony James added 13 points and a team-high five assists.