HIGHLIGHTS

Harding: Hayden Johnson - 19pts, 4reb; Tony Cochran - 17pts; Will Francis - 9pts, 4reb, 5ast; Blake McNair - 7pts, 6ast.

East Central: A.J. Moutry – 21pts, 3reb; Brandon Lucas – 19pts, 4reb; Miles Mitchell – 18pts, 2reb.

SEARCY – A furious second-half rally fell just short Thursday as East Central defeated Harding 93-83 in Great American Conference action in the Rhodes Field House.

The loss dropped Harding to 3-5 overall and 0-2 in GAC play, while East Central improved to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in conference. The Bisons have almost a month off before playing their next game on Jan. 2 at Southwestern Oklahoma. Saturday's schedule home game against Southeastern Oklahoma was postponed until Jan. 13 due to poor weather conditions.

East Central shot 61 percent in the first half, including 8-of-12 from 3-point range, and led 56-33 at halftime. Senior guard Miles Mitchell had scored 23 total points in East Central's first six games, but made all six of his shots in the first half, including four 3-pointers, and had 18 points at the break.

Harding made only 9-of-31 (29 percent) from the field and faced its largest halftime deficit of the season.

East Central extended its lead to a game-high 33 points for the first time on a 3-pointer by Brandon Lucas with 15:35 left in the game. A Lucas layup with 15:01 remaining gave East Central a 73-40 lead.

The Bisons then went on a 19-3 run over the next seven minutes and cut the Tiger lead to 76-59 when Blake McNair made two free throws at the 8:27 mark.

East Central's A.J. Moutry, who led all players with 21 points, pushed the Tiger advantage back to 21 (82-61) with a 3-pointer with 6:56 left. Another Harding run, this one 18-5 over the next six minutes, pulled the Bisons within eight. With 47 seconds left Hayden Johnson, who led Harding with 19 points, made a layup that cut the East Central lead to 87-79. The Bisons got no closer, as the Tigers made four straight free throws to close out the game.

Harding shot 61 percent in the second half and outscored East Central 50-37. The Tigers made 11-of-17 attempts (65 percent) in the second half and shot 63 percent for the game.

Tony Cochran made four of Harding's eight 3-pointers and had 17 points. Will Francis had nine points and five assists, and Blake McNair added seven points and a career-high six assists.