MONTICELLO, Ark. – The battle for seeding at the upcoming Great American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament begins in earnest for Harding on the road Thursday at Arkansas-Monticello.

The Bisons and the Bollweevils are both tied for third in the conference standings. Whichever team wrestles the spot from the other would take on the No. 6 seed (currently SE Oklahoma State) in the first round and be on the opposite side of the bracket from conference leaders Arkansas Tech.

Harding (13-10, 8-6) enters the game in the midst of its roughest patch during conference play. The Bisons have lost their last three games without defensive stopper Matt Walters. The junior suffered a foot injury against East Central on Feb. 9. Harding won its next game against Southwestern Oklahoma without Walters but has not won again since.

Two more of Harding's top defensive players, Bradley Spencer and Andrew Silverman, have also been battling injuries over the last few games. With the injuries at guard, the Bisons have been susceptible to the 3-pointer. Harding's opponents have made 24 3-pointers in the last two games and shot 56 percent from 3-point range.

Arkansas-Monticello enters the game 18-8 overall and 8-6 in conference play. The Boll Weevils have won their last three games, including a 71-68 overtime victory over Southern Arkansas on Monday.

Thursday's game will be the final home game for three Arkansas-Monticello players who provide the bulk of the scoring for the Boll Weevils, seniors L.A. Farmer (19.6 points per game), Sergio Crowe (16.4), and Ricardo Hall (12.9).

Harding won the first meeting between the two teams 74-66 in Searcy on Jan. 26. Spencer scored 19 points in that game and current GAC Player of the Week Zach Roddenberry had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Farmer had only five points and shot 1-of-12 from the field for the Boll Weevils.

Thursday's game will air live in Searcy on KVHU 95.3-FM and on HardingSports.com with Billy Morgan and Scott Goode on the call.