Harding Game Notes
SEARCY – The Harding men's basketball team is looking to start Gulf South Conference play with consecutive victories for the first time since 2008 when it meets Southern Arkansas in Magnolia on Thursday. The Bisons and Muleriders tip-off at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center at 7:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast live in Searcy on KVHU-95.3 FM. Live statistics will be available on HardingSports.com courtesy of the Southern Arkansas University Sports Information Office.
Harding head coach
Jeff Morgan is seeking his 300th victory as the Bisons' coach in the Southern Arkansas game. Morgan is 299-196 in 18 seasons in Searcy and has more victories than any other Harding basketball coach. Jess Bucy won 262 games as Harding coach from 1969-90.
Harding is off to an 11-2 start overall, the second-best 13-game start in program history. The 1995-96 team opened the season 12-1.
Harding is coming off a 59-55 victory over Ouachita Baptist on Saturday at the Rhodes Field House.
Kevin Brown scored 16 points and added a career-high tying seven steals to lead the Bisons to their eighth straight victory over the Tigers. It was the fewest points scored by the Bisons in a GSC win since a 58-55 victory over Henderson State in 2007.
The Bisons outscored the Tigers 21-5 at the free throw line continuing a trend this season. Harding has made 294 free throws, 25 more than its opponents have attempted. The Bisons average 22.6 made free throws per game, easily the highest among GSC teams. Valdosta State is second at 17.5 free throws per game.
Harding has two of the top five free throw shooters in the conference.
Stephen Blake leads the GSC at 86.2 percent, and
Bradley Spencer is fifth at 83.8 percent.
The Bisons also have three of the top 10 three-point shooters in the conference. Blake is second (52.5),
Hayden Johnson is fifth (45.9) and
Bradley Spencer is seventh (44.8).
Southern Arkansas enters the game 8-5 overall and 0-1 in GSC play, but has lost four of its last five. The Muleriders are one of the top defensive teams in the GSC. SAU leads the conference in field goal defense (39.6) and ranks second in scoring defense (61.7), three-point defense (29.1), blocks (4.31) and steals (9.32).
Senior guard Channin Harden, a native of Marianna, Ark., leads the Muleriders. He leads all GSC West Division players in scoring at 18.5 points per game. He also ranks seventh in the GSC in free throw percentage (82.8) and ninth in steals per game (1.62).
Harding and Southern Arkansas are meeting for the 119th time. The Muleriders lead the all-time series 68-40 overall and 41-12 in Magnolia. Harding has won five of the last eight games in Magnolia but has lost the last two.
