Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

#25 Harding (2-1, 0-0) at Southern Nazarene (1-3, 0-1)

Location: Sawyer Center, Bethany, Okla.

Time: 4 p.m.

Series:  HU leads 2-0

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (351-223, 21st season at HU; 368-233, 22nd season overall); Southern Nazarene - Adam Bohac (112-55, 6th season)

Live Stats/Audio/Video: Available through a link on HardingSports.com

Radio: KVHU 95.3-FM

• Harding opens its 2013-14 Great American Conference schedule Saturday when it travels to Bethany, Okla., to meet Southern Nazarene at 4 p.m.

• The Bisons entered the season ranked No. 25 in the NABC Top 25 Poll. It is only the second time Harding has been ranked in the preseason poll--ranked 21st in the 2006-07 poll.

• Harding is coming off an 85-57 victory over Champion Baptist on Tuesday in Searcy. Antoine Burrell came off the bench to lead Harding with 13 points and seven rebounds. Tony Cochran and Will Francis both added 12 points. Harding made 12 3-pointers and all 12 players scored.

• Southern Nazarene opened GAC play Thursday with a 71-64 home loss to Arkansas Tech. The Crimson Storm made 12 3-pointers but only seven shots inside the arc and shot just 32% overall. Tech outrebounded Southern Nazarene 47-32. C.J. Smith led the Storm with 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting.

• Harding's scoring leader through the first three games is senior Hayden Johnson, averaging 12.3 points. Sophomore Andraz Kavas leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game, and senior Weston Jameson leads with 2.7 assists per game.

• Harding and Southern Nazarene are meeting for the third time with the Bisons leading the series 2-0. The teams met for the first time last season.

• Harding opened GAC play last season with an 80-67 home victory over Southern Nazarene on Dec. 1. The Bisons captured a 71-58 victory over the Crimson Storm on Jan. 31 in Bethany.

• In Harding's two victories over Southern Nazarene last season, Zach Roddenberry averaged 25.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. Tony Cochran was the leading scorer among current Bisons, averaging 10.0 points. Hayden Johnson averaged 7.5 points. Harding made 14 3-pointers in the games and limited Southern Nazarene to five.

• Ryan Aaron, who is no longer on the Crimson Storm, led the team with 18.5 points per game against Harding last season. Current team member Quan Conner averaged 10.5 points and made four of the team's five 3-pointers against the Bisons. Southern Nazarene shot only 18.5% from 3-point range and 58% from the free throw line.

• Harding was selected second in the GAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bisons were behind only Arkansas Tech in the poll.

• Harding tied its single-game school record for 3-point attempts with 36 against Northeastern State on Nov. 16. The last time the Bisons' attempted 36 3-pointers was on Nov. 19, 2005 against Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T).

• Southern Nazarene is a provisional member of the Great American Conference and is located in Bethany, Okla. With its provisional status, the Crimson Storm is not eligible for the GAC Tournament.

• Southern Nazarene is coached by Adam Bohac, who is in his sixth season with the Crimson Storm. Bohac graduated from Nebraska in 2005. He has been coaching at Southern Nazarene since the 2008-09 season.

• Southern Nazarene is the top 3-point shooting team in the conference, making 10.3 per game. Quan Conner is tops in the GAC with 3.5 3-pointers per game, and C.J. Smith is fourth at 2.8. Conner and Smith have made 25 of the Crimson Storm's 41 3-pointers (61%).

• The Crimson Storm boasts the top two scorers in the GAC. C.J. Smith, a junior transfer from Houston who attended Odessa College last season, leads the conference with 25.0 points per game. Conner is second at 21.5 per game. Smith and Conner have scored a staggering 56% of Southern Nazarene's points.