Box Score Box Score
SEARCY - Harding shot 71 percent from the field and made all 17 free throws in the second half to defeat Christian Brothers 62-43 at the Rhodes Field House. It was Harding's sixth straight win, but it did not come easy.
The Bisons (21-3, 11-1) trailed by 10 points at halftime after Christian Brothers' Cory McArthy hit a 50-foot 3-pointer as time expired in the first half.
Harding completely controlled the second half. The Bisons outscored the Buccaneers 44-15 in the period and held an 18-4 rebound advantage.
Harding began its comeback early in the second half, scoring the first four points of the period. A 7-0 Bison run that began with a Sam Brown 3-pointer with 15:45 left and ended with a Bradley Spencer layup at 12:34 cut the Christian Brothers lead to one at 33-32.
Just over a minute later, Stephen Blake gave Harding its first lead in the second half with a floater in the lane. Kirk Porter gave Harding the lead for good, 38-36, with a layup at the 10:30 mark. The Bisons pulled away from there, outscoring the Bucs 24-8 down the stretch.
Christian Brothers (17-9, 5-7) shot only 19 percent in the second half and made only five free throws in the game. The Bucs' 43 points was the fewest ever allowed by a Harding team in a Gulf South Conference game.
Senior forward Kevin Brown led Harding with 22 points. He had nine of the Bisons' 18 points in the first half. Blake hit 10-of-10 from the free throw line and finished with 16. Harding made 25-of-27 free throws as a team (92.6 percent).
Michael Drake, CBU's leading scorer entering the game, led the Bucs with 15 points but played only 17 minutes before fouling out.
Harding remained in second place in the GSC West Division, one game behind undefeated Arkansas Tech, its next opponent. The Bisons and Wonder Boys will meet Thursday night at the Rhodes Field House in a battle for first place in the division.
Harding's 21 victories tie for the third-most ever in a season by a Bison team. The 2002-03 team also won 21 games. The school record is 24 wins in 1995-96, followed by 22 by the 1994-95 team.
