SEARCY – The sold out Rhodes Field House will be hopping Saturday as the Harding men's basketball team plays for at least a share of the Great American Conference regular season championship against Southeastern Oklahoma State. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m.
Earlier this week it was announced that Harding had been named the Best Road Trip in College Basketball, and a television crew will be in attendance to produce a piece that will air on April 6 on the CBS Sports show The Best of College Basketball. With the announcement, the Harding athletics department has distributed nearly 3,000 tickets.
In addition to the conference championship, Harding is battling to stay in contention for a spot in the NCAA II Central Region Tournament. The Bisons, who could reach the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in program history, entered the week ranked No. 6 in the rankings with the top eight advancing to regionals.
Harding (19-8, 12-7) boosted its case Thursday with a 73-64 victory over Arkansas Tech on Thursday in Russellville. The victory moved the Bisons into a first-place tie with Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma State, who is not eligible for the conference tournament as a provisional member.
Harding had four players score 10 or more points in the game, led by senior Adam Sterrenberg who made four 3-pointers and scored 17 points. Senior Zach Roddenberry had 15 points, junior Weston Jameson added 11 points and five assists, and senior Bradley Spencer scored 10 points. Spencer's total made him the 32nd player in Harding men's basketball history with 1,000 or more career points.
Southeastern Oklahoma (15-10, 11-8) and Arkansas-Monticello are only one game behind the leaders in the GAC standings. Southeastern has won its last three games, including a 74-73 overtime victory over East Central on Thursday.
The Savage Storm defeated the Bisons 67-64 on Dec. 8 in Durant, Okla. Roddenberry scored 27 points for the Bisons, but Harding could not overcome nine 3-pointers by the Savage Storm.
The game will air live in Searcy on KVHU-95.3 FM and on TV16 on White County Cable. Live audio, video and statistics will be available on HardingSports.com.
