Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

Harding (9-7, 6-4) at East Central (10-6, 7-3)

Location: Kerr Activities Center, Ada, Okla.

Time: 4 p.m.

Series: ECU leads 8-7

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (358-229, 21st season at HU; 375-239, 22nd season overall); East Central - Ja Havens (10-6, 1st season at ECU)

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)

• In a matchup of two of the top four teams in the Great American Conference, Harding concludes a three-game road trip Saturday against East Central at 4 p.m. in Ada, Okla.

• Harding enters the game 9-7 overall and 6-4 in the GAC. The Bisons are in fourth place in the GAC standings, one-half game behind third-place Arkansas Tech. East Central is second, 1.5 games back of leader Southwestern Oklahoma.

• Harding had its three-game winning streak snapped Thursday with a 63-62 loss at Arkansas Tech. Wonder Boy Bobby Hatchett made two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to sink the Bisons. Jacob Gibson scored 14 of his Harding-high 17 in the first half.

• East Central is coming off a 64-59 road victory over Southeastern Oklahoma on Wednesday. The Tigers had four players in double figures, led by Colby Carr with 13 points and eight rebounds. A.J. Moutry made four 3-pointers and scored 12 points.

• Saturday's game will be a matchup of the top two highest-scoring freshmen in the GAC. Harding's Will Francis is the highest-scoring freshman at 11.9 points per game. East Central's A.J. Moutry is second at 11.6 points per game.

Inside the Series:
•    Harding and East Central are meeting for the 16th time with the Tigers leading the all-time series 8-7. The Tigers have won four of the six games played in Ada. Harding's first victory in Ada came in 1998 when the Bisons won 110-108 on a game-winning 3-pointer by current Bison assistant J.R. Duke.

•    East Central won the first meeting between the team 93-83 in Searcy on Dec. 5. The Tigers shot 62.5 percent from the field and made 10-of-18 3-pointers. Freshman A.J. Moutry made three 3s and led the Tigers with 21 points. MIles Mitchell made 4-of-6 3-pointers and scored 18 points off the bench.

•    Harding shot only 29 percent in the first half and trailed by 23 points at halftime. The Bisons trailed by as many as 33 points early in the second half but rallied with 60 percent shooting after halftime. Hayden Johnson led the Bisons with 19 points, and Blake McNair had six assists.

Additional Harding Notes:
•    Upcoming milestones: Weston Jameson needs 14 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 (1,075 points) and needs two 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 34.4 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 20.1 points. He is also Harding's top rebounder with 6.2 per game. Weston Jameson is averaging 5.9 assists in GAC games and has a 3.93-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

•    In its third season in the GAC, Harding is 13-8 vs. Oklahoma opponents and 14-11 vs. Arkansas opponents.

Opponent Notes:
•    East Central is a charter member of the Great American Conference and is located in Ada, Okla. Ada's city motto is: City of Pure Spring Water and is the hometown of country music singer Blake Shelton.

•    The Tigers are 10-6 overall and 7-3 in the GAC. East Central has a 5-2 home record and has won three of its five home conference games. The Tigers have won eight of their last 10 after starting the season 2-4.

•    Ja Havens, a 1998 graduate of Northeastern State, is in his first season as head coach at East Central. He was an assistant last season for NCAA Division II national champion Drury.

•    Colby Carr, a 6-foot-4 senior from New Orleans, La., leads East Central in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Carr played at both Louisiana-Monroe and Coffeyville Community College before transferring to East Central, where he earned honorable mention All-GAC honors as a junior.

•    Redshirt freshman Aly Hudgins, a 6-foot-6 forward from Oppegard, Norway, averages only 16.0 minutes per game but has a team-leading 30 offensive rebounds. He has also fouled out of five games, including the first HU game.