SEARCY – Ouachita Baptist quarterback Casey Cooper rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown and sophomore Chris Rycraw added 111 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers defeated Harding 31-27 on Homecoming at First Security Stadium.

Harding (3-6, 2-2) received 102 rushing yards from senior Kale Gelles, and redshirt freshman Donatella Luckett returned a kickoff for a touchdown, becoming the first Bison ever with two kickoff returns for touchdowns in a season.

The loss ended Harding's hopes of a Great American Conference championship. The Bisons have two GAC games remaining this season beginning with a road game against East Central in Ada, Okla., next Saturday.

Ouachita Baptist (5-2, 5-0) remained atop the GAC standings with the victory. The Tigers entered the game as the No. 8-ranked team in the South Central Region and remain the GAC's best chance for an NCAA Division II playoff berth.

With the game tied at 10-10 at halftime, the two teams' offenses improved in the second half.

Cooper scored his touchdown from a yard out with 12:34 left in the third to give Ouachita Baptist a 17-10 lead. Harding answered with an 18-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Eddy Carmona's 29-yard field goal. Carmona then executed a perfect on-side kick, and Harding scored on quarterback Kelvin Martin's 1-yard sneak that gave the Bisons a 20-17 lead with 45 seconds left in the third.

Rycraw scored his second touchdown on a 35-yard run with 13:28 remaining to put the Tigers back in the lead, 24-20. That lead lasted 13 seconds, as Luckett, who also returned a kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown against Northeastern State, took the kickoff 88 yards down the Harding sideline and gave the Bisons a 27-24 advantage.

Harding then tried another on-side kick that two Bisons touched before Ouachita Baptist recovered. Taking advantage of the short field, the Tigers went 48 yards on five plays with Rycraw punching in his third touchdown from two yards out.

The Bisons had three more possessions, but lost a fumble on the first, punted on the second, and ran out of time on the third, advancing to the Ouachita Baptist 23 when time expired.

NCAA Division II's leader in rushing yards, Harding ran 59 times for 330 yards but completed only 2-of-14 passes for 46 yards.

Ouachita Baptist had only three players run the ball, but all three had outstanding games. In addition to Cooper and Rycraw, Daniel McGee carried 11 times for 84 yards. The Tigers rushed for 356 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries. Harding had allowed only six rushing touchdowns all season entering the game.

Gelles went over the 100-yard barrier for the fifth time this season and 10th time in his career. With his effort, he became just the fourth Harding player ever with more than 2,000 rushing yards in his career. He has 2,083 career yards.

Harding junior linebacker Aaron Gillaspie led the Bisons with 13 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack, and earned the John Prock Most Valuable Player Award, given annually to Harding's best player in the Homecoming game.