Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

Harding (9-6, 6-3) at Arkansas Tech (10-6, 5-3)

Location: Tucker Coliseum, Russellville, Ark.

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Series: ATU leads 59-55

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (358-228, 21st season at HU; 375-238, 22nd season overall); Arkansas Tech - Doug Karleskint (79-30, 4th season at ATU)

Live Stats/Audio/Video: Available through a link on HardingSports.com - www.hardingsports.com/coverage.aspx

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

• Winner of six of its last seven and in second place in the Great American Conference standings, Harding will play its second of three straight road games Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Arkansas Tech.

• Harding enters the game 9-6 overall and 6-3 in the GAC. The Bisons are tied for second with East Central, who plays Wednesday at Southeastern Oklahoma. Arkansas Tech is in fourth place with a 5-3 conference record.

• Jacob Gibson made the game-winning 3-pointer in double overtime Saturday in Harding's 89-87 victory at Arkansas-Monticello. Hayden Johnson led Harding with 22 points and eight rebounds. It was Harding's fifth double overtime game in the NCAA era.

• Arkansas Tech is coming off a 63-58 loss at Southern Arkansas on Saturday. The Wonder Boys shot only 34 percent and were outrebounded 47-31. Kendell Pinkney led Tech in scoring with 17 points, and Bobby Hatchett scored eight of his 13 at the foul line.

• Harding's double overtime game with Arkansas-Monticello was the fifth since the Bisons joined the NCAA in 1997. Four of the five double overtime games have come on the road. Harding is now 4-1 in double overtime games since 1997.

Inside the Series:
•    Harding and Arkansas Tech are meeting for the 115th time with the Wonder Boys leading the series 59-55. Arkansas Tech holds a 35-19 lead in Russellville and had won five straight at Tucker Coliseum until Harding's 73-64 victory last season. The Bisons won both meetings in 2013.

•    Jacob Gibson, Weston Jameson and Hayden Johnson have all played against Arkansas Tech. Gibson is scoreless in one game, Jameson averages 4.7 points and 3.9 assists in seven games (four starts), and Johnson averages 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in seven games (four starts).

•    Among six active Wonder Boys who played against Harding last season, Kendell Pinkney had the highest scoring average at 11.5 points. Arkansas Tech shot only 21.9 percent (7-of-32) against Harding last season.

Additional Harding Notes:
•    Upcoming milestones: Weston Jameson needs 16 assists to move past Tim Vick (1971-75) into sixth on HU's career list ... Hayden Johnson needs six blocked shots to pass Zach Roddenberry for third place on Harding's career list ... Johnson is 26th on HU's career scoring list (1,065 points) and needs 12 points to pass former teammate Zach Roddenberry (1,076 points, 2008-13) for 25th.

•    Harding guard Weston Jameson currently ranks third in the GAC with 34.3 minutes played per game. He played 50 minutes in the Bisons' double overtime victory over Arkansas-Monticello. It was the most minutes played by a Harding player in an NCAA game. Blake McNair played 49 minutes at UAM. Harding's season record for minutes per game was 34.5 by Chris Hardaway in 1998-99.

•    Harding senior Hayden Johnson leads the Bisons in scoring in GAC games with an average of 21.2 points. He is also Harding's top rebounder with 6.1 per game. Weston Jameson is averaging 6.3 assists in GAC games and has a 4.38-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

•    In its third season in the GAC, Harding is 13-8 vs. Oklahoma opponents and 14-10 vs. Arkansas opponents.

Opponent Notes:
•    Arkansas Tech is a charter member of the Great American Conference and is located in Russellville, Ark.

•    The Wonder Boys are 10-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play. Arkansas Tech is 6-2 in its eight home games this season and 2-1 in home GAC games. Tech has won its last two home conference games against Ouachita Baptist and Arkansas-Monticello after losing its opener to East Central.

•    Doug Karleskint, a 2003 graduate of MidAmerica Nazarene, is in his fourth season at Tech. Arkansas Tech went 51-12 in Karleskint's first two seasons and reached the NCAA Central Region Tournament last season.

•    Bobby Hatchett, a 5-11, 160-pound senior guard, is Arkansas Tech's leading scorer at 12.1 points per game. He also leads the team with 45 assists and 21 steals.

•    Tech senior center, Charles Mells, who is listed at 7 feet tall, has 39 blocked shots in 16 games this season. He ranks second in the GAC and 17th in Division II with 2.4 blocks per game. By comparison, Harding's entire team has 21 blocks this season.