Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

Harding (3-4, 0-1) vs. East Central (2-4, 1-1)

Location: Rhodes Field House, Searcy, Ark.

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Series: Tied 7-7

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (352-226, 21st season at HU; 369-236, 22nd season overall); East Central - Ja Havens (2-4, 1st season)

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

Radio: KVHU-95.3 FM (Billy Morgan and Scott Goode)

TV: TV16 in Searcy

• Harding plays the first of its two Great American Conference games in December on Thursday as the Bisons host East Central at the Rhodes Field House at 7:30 p.m. Harding then hosts Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday in its final game of 2013.

• Harding enters the game 3-4 overall and 0-1 in GAC action. The Bisons lost their GAC opener 87-76 to Southern Nazarene on Nov. 23 in Bethany, Okla. The rest of Harding's 19 games are all GAC contests.

• Harding will be looking to bounce back from a 66-64 loss to 21st-ranked Northeastern State on Nov. 30 in Russellville, Ark. Freshman Will Francis made six 3-pointers and led the Bisons with 18 points.

• East Central enters the game 2-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Tigers have lost their last two, including a 75-67 home loss in GAC play against Henderson State. East Central also fell 75-54 on the road at Tarleton State on Nov. 30.

• Harding ranks second in the GAC in free throw percentage through its first seven games. The Bisons are shooting 75.7 percent. Harding has two of the top 10 free throw shooters in the conference. Andraz Kavas ranks seventh at 81.1 percent (30-of-37), and Hayden Johnson is eighth at 80.0 percent (28-of-35).

• Harding and East Central are meeting for the 15th time with the series tied 7-7. The Bisons hold a 5-2 advantage in games played in Searcy and have won the last four meetings at the Rhodes Field House. Harding has won three of the four meetings in GAC competition.

• The two teams split last season's two games. East Central won 75-60 in Ada, and Harding won 92-86 in Searcy. Zach Roddenberry averaged 20.5 points in the two games, while current Bison Hayden Johnson averaged 15.5 points and Weston Jameson averaged 13.0. Harding outscored East Central 46-25 at the free throw line but were outrebounded 70-52.

• Harding's Weston Jameson has 30 assists through the first seven games, the second-highest total of any GAC player. He ranks third in the GAC with 4.3 assists per game and fourth with a 2.14 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jameson has 330 career assists and needs six more to pass former teammate Bradley Spencer and move into Harding's career top 10.

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

• Harding has attempted 201 3-pointers this season, the 11th-highest total of any of the 290 Division II teams. The Bisons have attempted more than 20 3-pointers in each game and have eclipsed 30 3-point attempts four times, including a school-record tying 36 3-pointers at Northeastern State on Nov. 16. Sophomore Jacob Gibson leads Harding with 36 3-pointers attempted, the fifth-highest total in the GAC.

• East Central is a charter member of the Great American Conference and is located in Ada, Okla.

• East Central is led by senior guard Colby Carr, a guard from New Orleans who transferred from Coffeyville Community College. Carr averages 15.5 points, good for ninth in the GAC. He also leads the team in free throws (25), assists (18), and steals (7).

• Sophomore guard Marquis Walters has missed 12 of his 13 shots this season but leads the GAC in assist-to-turnover ratio. He has 16 assists and only three turnovers, a 5.33-to-1 ratio.

• East Central is last in the GAC in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents a 45.7 shooting percentage.

• East Central is coached by Ja Havens, who is in his first season in Ada. He spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant coach at Drury University in Springfield, Mo., the 2013 NCAA Division II National Champions.