NCAA II CENTRAL REGION QUARTERFINALS - (4) CENTRAL MISSOURI VS (5) HARDING

Date: Mar. 16, 2013
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Mankato, Minn.
Venue: Taylor Center
Capacity: 4,800
Series: First Meeting
Streak: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting

HARDING ON THE AIR
Television: None

Radio: The Harding Sports Network will broadcast the Central Missouri game. The game will be heard in Searcy on KVHU-95.3 FM. Billy Morgan will handle the play-by-play with Scott Goode on color. Click Here for Live Audio Stream.

Web:
Free live video stream: Click Here

Live Stats: Check Here

Game Notes



BISON NOTES
• Harding makes its fourth appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament as the No. 5 seed in the Central Region. The Bisons also reached the national tournament in 2003, 2008, and 2011.

• The winner of the Harding-Central Missouri game will play Sunday at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of Minnesota State and Arkansas Tech. The championship is Tuesday at 7 p.m.

• Harding has not been a No. 5 seed in any of its previous tournament appearances. The Bisons' highest seed was No. 2 in the 2011 tournament.

• Harding enters the game 21-9 overall. It is the Bisons' fifth 20-win season. Harding also reached 20 wins in 1994-95 (22), 1995-96 (24), 2002-03 (21), and 2010-11 (25).

• Harding is seeking its first victory in the NCAA II Tournament. The Bisons lost to Henderson State 67-59 in '03, 86-77 to Tampa in '08, and 87-86 to Stillman in '11.

• Harding is coming off a 78-63 loss to Ouachita Baptist in the semifinals of the GAC Tournament in Bartlesville, Okla. The Bisons shot on 38.6 percent and had 17 turnovers. Zach Roddenberry led the Bisons with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

•   Harding and Central Missouri will be playing for the first time in men's basketball action. The Bisons have won both games against MIAA opponents this season, defeating Northeastern State 65-63 in Searcy on Nov. 29 and Northwest Missouri State 68-66 in Hawaii on Dec. 16.

•   Harding has played three games in its history in Minnesota. The Bisons  played in the 1975 Granite City Classic in St. Cloud. Harding lost 79-65 to Northern State on Dec. 29, defeated Lewis 91-88 in overtime on Dec. 30, and lost 80-63 to Gustavus Adolphus on Dec. 31. Junior forward Butch Gardner, Harding's current Director of Career Services, led Harding in scoring in all three games and averaged 24.7 points in the tournament. It has been 13,590 days since Harding played in Minnesota.

•   Harding's Zach Roddenberry and Bradley Spencer both surpassed the 1,000 career point mark this season becoming the 32nd and 33rd Bisons to do so. Roddenberry currently ranks 27th with 1,044 points, and Spencer is 29th with 1,015.

•   Harding has made 247 3-pointers this season, the most in program history. The old record was 245 3-pointers in 2002-03. Harding is shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range, currently the seventh-best percentage by a Bison team.

•   Harding freshman Tony Cochran has made 66 3-pointers this season, the most ever by a Bison freshman and tied for 7th in program history. He needs one more to reach Chris Hardaway (67, 1999-00) and six more to reach Lonnie Smith (72, 2005-06).

•   Harding's GAC postseason honorees included: Zach Roddenberry (1st Team), Hayden Johnson (honorable mention), Bradley Spencer (honorable mention), and Tony Cochran (Freshman of the Year).

•             Harding senior Zach Roddenberry was named Daktronics 2nd Team All-Central Region on Thursday. Last Bison to earn the honor from Daktronics was Matt Hall in 2007-08.

ABOUT CENTRAL MISSOURI

•   Central Missouri, the MIAA regular season and tournament champion, is located in Warrenburg, Mo. (pop. 19,110). Notable residents include Dale Carnegie and David Cook, the Season 7 winner of American Idol.

•   Central Missouri enters the game 22-7 overall and 13-5 in the MIAA. The Mules have won seven of their last eight games. UCM has played seven neutral site games this season with a 5-2 record.

•   Central Missouri is coming off a 79-76 victory over Northwest Missouri State in the championship game of the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City.  Widgett Washington led the Mules with 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting. UCM made nine 3-pointers and had only nine turnovers.

•   Central Missouri does not lead the MIAA in any statistical category but ranks third in scoring at 78.2 points per game and in turnover margin (+1.6). The Mules were 11th of 15 teams in the conference in free throw percentage (69.1 percent).

•   UCM starting guard Widgett Washington led the MIAA and ranked 25th in Division II in assist/turnover ratio at 2.3.