Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

Harding (9-8, 6-5) vs. Southern Nazarene (8-8, 6-4)

Location: Rhodes Field House, Searcy, Ark.

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Series: HU leads 2-1

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (358-230, 21st season at HU; 375-240, 22nd season overall); Southern Nazarene - Adam Bohac (119-59, 6th season at SNU)

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)

• It is likely to be bombs away in the Rhodes Field House as Harding hosts Southern Nazarene on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Bisons and Crimson Storm both average nearly 10 3-pointers made per game.

• Harding enters the game 9-8 overall and 6-5 in the GAC. The Bisons are in fourth place in the GAC standings among tournament-eligible teams. Southern Nazarene is 8-8 overall and 6-4 in conference but is not eligible for the tournament.

• Jacob Gibson made a school-record nine 3-pointers and scored 35 points in Harding's 74-69 loss to East Central on Saturday in Ada. Harding made 14 3s in the game but could not overcome East Central's 51 percent shooting.

• Southern Nazarene lost 83-77 at home last Thursday to Southwestern Oklahoma. CJ Smith, the GAC's leading scorer, had 22 points. The teams combined to shoot 59 free throws. SNU shot on 32 percent in the second half and missed 10 of 12 3-pointers.

• Thursday's game will be a matchup of two of the top three 3-point shooters in the GAC. Southern Nazarene's CJ Smith leads the conference with 3.1 3s per game, and Harding's Jacob Gibson is second with 2.3 per game.

Inside the Series:
•    Harding and Southern Nazarene are meeting for the fourth time with the Bisons leading the series 2-1. Harding won the only previous meeting in Searcy, 80-67, last season. Zach Roddenberry led Harding with 32 points and had seven rebounds.

•    Southern Nazarene won the first meeting between the teams this season, 87-76 in Bethany on Nov. 23. CJ Smith led the Crimson Storm with 34 points, hitting 17-of-19 at the free throw line. Southern Nazarene shot 54 percent.

•    Hayden Johnson shot 10-of-14 from the field and 13-of-15 from the foul line  and led Harding with 33 points in the first meeting with Southern Nazarene. The Bisons made only 5-of-22 3-pointers in the game and were outscored 23-10 off turnovers.

Additional Harding Notes:
•    Upcoming milestones: Weston Jameson needs seven 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 25th on HU's career scoring list (1,078 points) and needs 61 points to pass Gary Baker (1972-76, 1,139 points) for 24th.

•    Harding guard Weston Jameson leads the Great American Conference in both assists per game (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1). His ratio ranks 19th in Division II, and his per-game average is 38th. Jameson could be the first Bison to average over 5.0 assists since Steven Barnett averaged 5.5 in 2008-09.

•    In its third season in the GAC, Harding is 13-9 vs. Oklahoma opponents and 14-11 vs. Arkansas opponents.

•    Harding sophomore Jacob Gibson set school records with nine 3-pointers made and 17 3-pointers attempted at East Central. He is the first Harding player with two games of eight or more 3-pointers. Gibson's effort was only the 15th in Division II this season where one player made nine or more 3-pointers in a game. Two players in D2 have made 12 3s in a game this season (R.J. McClure, Lenoir-Rhyne & Brandon Davey, Fort Valley St.).

Opponent Notes:
•    Southern Nazarene is a provisional member of the Great American Conference and is located in Bethany, Okla. The Crimson Storm is not eligible for the GAC Tournament. Southern Nazarene's most famous alumnus is former U.S. Presidential candidate Gary Hart.

•    The Crimson Storm are 8-8 overall and 6-4 in the GAC. Southern Nazarene is 2-4 on the road this season, including 2-2 in conference games. The Storm has lost its last two conference road games, 87-78 at Henderson State and 62-61 at East Central.

•    Adam Bohac, a 2004 graduate of Nebraska, is in his sixth season as head coach at Southern Nazarene. He was an assistant at Army before taking the Storm head coaching job in 2008.

•    Southern Nazarene boasts the top two scorers in the GAC. CJ Smith, a 6-2 junior guard from Nassau, Bahamas, leads the conference with 21.6 points per game. Senior guard Quan Conner is next with 18.4 points per game.

•    Smith also leads the conference with 2.1 steals and is the GAC's leading free throw shooter at 86.6 percent. Conner leads the conference in minutes played (35.6) and is the top 3-point shooter in the GAC with 3.1 per game.