SEARCY – Harding needed a late comeback to continue its school-record tying winning streak and defeat East Central 92-86 on Saturday in front of a crowd of 2,096 at Rhodes Field House.

Harding (16-3, 9-2) set one school record and tied another with the victory. The Bisons have won a school-record 12 straight home games to start the season, topping streaks of 11 in 2002-03 and 1994-95. Harding's ninth straight victory overall matched the school record that was set in 2008.

The Bisons maintained their two-game lead in the Great American Conference standings. Arkansas Tech defeated Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday and remains in second place at 7-4. Four teams are tied for third at 6-5.

Harding led 41-27 at halftime over East Central (6-11, 3-8) and took a 17-point advantage on a Weston Jameson 3-pointer with 15:49 left in the game.

The Tigers then went on a 21-6 run over the next five minutes that cut the Bison lead to two points at 61-59. Harding extended the lead back to seven points, 66-59, on another Jameson 3-pointer with 9:17 left.

But East Central had another run in store, outscoring Harding 13-4 over the next two minutes and took the lead on Marquis Walters' 3-pointer with 6:12 remaining. Bison senior Zach Roddenberry made two free throws to tie the score 72-72 at the 5:55 mark.

East Central retook the lead at 81-80 on Jason Williams' free throw with 3:11 left, but Roddenberry answered with two more free throws and scored seven straight points for Harding. Roddenberry scored on a layup with 1:16 left, was fouled, and made the free throw to give the Bisons an 87-81 lead.

Roddenberry scored 23 of his team-high 28 points in the second half. He shot 8-of-13 from the field and made 12-of-13 free throws. Roddenberry also led the Bisons with five assists.

Harding had five players score 12 or more points and matched their highest offensive output of the season. Junior Weston Jameson made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points. Junior Hayden Johnson had 15, reserve freshman Andraz Kavas added 13 points, and Bradley Spencer had 12.

East Central outscored Harding 59-51 in the second half as both teams shot better than 60 percent. The Bisons made 13-of-18 (72 percent), while East Central went 21-of-34 (62 percent). Harding outscored East Central by 20 points at the free throw line. The Bisons made 31-of-41 (76 percent), and East Central, the worst free throw shooting team in the GAC, made only 11-of-21 (52 percent).

Junior Chris Fisher led East Central with 24 points, and junior Colby Carr added 16.

Harding will play six of its next eight games on the road, beginning Thursday against Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla.