Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

Harding (4-5, 1-2) at Northwestern Oklahoma State (4-6, 1-3)

Location: Percefull Fieldhouse, Alva, Okla.

Time: 4 p.m.

Series: Tied 1-1

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (353-227, 21st season at HU; 370-237, 22nd season overall); Northwestern Oklahoma - Andrew Brown (102-86, 7th season at NWOSU)

Live Stats/Audio/Video: Available through a link on HardingSports.com

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

• Harding plays the second game of a two-game Oklahoma road trip Saturday at Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Bisons could sweep a two-game trip to the Sooner State for the first time in its three seasons in the GAC.

• Harding enters the game as the GAC's leader in free throw percentage (77.3%). The Bisons have shot over 80% from the line six times this season, including a season-best 90% (18-of-20) at Northeastern State on Nov. 16.

• Harding opened the trip with an 89-65 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma on Thursday in Weatherford. The Bisons made 13 3-pointers and were led by Hayden Johnson's 26 points. Tony Cochran made five 3-pointers and had 19 points.

• Northwestern Oklahoma is coming off a 60-56 home loss to Arkansas Tech on Thursday. Both teams shot below 40 percent in the game. Bruce Wright led the Rangers with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

• Harding leads the GAC with a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio. The Bisons are one of only three teams in the GAC with more assists than turnovers (Arkansas-Monticello and East Central). Harding has 127 assists and 106 turnovers.

Inside the Series:
•    Harding and Northwestern Oklahoma are meeting for the third time after splitting the first two games last season. The Bisons won 82-66 on Jan. 5 in Searcy, and the Rangers won 80-61 on Feb. 7 in Alva.

•    Among current Bisons, Hayden Johnson was Harding's top scorer against Northwestern last season. Johnson shot 4-of-10 from 3-point range and averaged 12.0 points in the two games. Harding shot well from the field (45%) and from 3-point range (40%) but shot very poorly from the free throw line (59%) in the two games.

•    Ranger forward Bruce Wright shot 8-of-12 (67%) and averaged 10.0 points against Harding last season. Northwestern shot 48% in the two games and outrebounded Harding 70-62.

Additional Harding Notes:

•    Harding will be seeking consecutive road victories. The Bisons won four straight on the road from Dec. 30, 2012-Jan. 31, 2013 but had lost nine of its next 10 before Thursday's victory over Southwestern Oklahoma.

•    Harding is 3-7 in GAC road games played in Oklahoma in the first three seasons of the conference. The Bisons won 78-71 at East Central on Jan. 12, 2012, 71-58 at Southern Nazarene on Jan. 31, 2013, and 89-65 over Southwestern Oklahoma on Jan. 2, 2014.

•    Harding senior guard Weston Jameson tied his career high with nine assists vs. Southwestern Oklahoma. He now has moved into Harding's career top 10 with 343 assists. He needs 10 more assists to pass HU Hall of Famer Corey Camper for eighth.

•    Hayden Johnson has led Harding in scoring in all three of the Bisons' conference games this season. He scored a season-high 33 points vs. Southern Nazarene, 19 vs. East Central, and 26 vs. Southwestern Oklahoma. Johnson averages 26.0 points and shoots 61% from the field. He has also made 30 of Harding's 68 free throws in GAC games.

Opponent Notes:

•    Northwestern Oklahoma is a provisional member of the Great American Conference and is located in Alva, Okla.

•    The 2013-14 season will mark Andrew Brown's seventh as head men's basketball coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State and 14th overall on the Ranger bench. The Northwestern alum started his career as a student assistant from 1995-99. He returned as a full-time assistant in 2004-05 before taking the head coaching reigns in the fall of 2007.

•    Northwestern is 1-4 at home this season and has lost its last four home games after opening the season with a 50-42 victory over Rogers State.

•    Northwestern's top performer this season is senior Bruce Wright, a 6-8 forward from McKinney, Texas, who is in his second season for the Rangers after transferring from Northlake College. Wright leads the team in scoring (12.7), rebounding (7.9), field goal percentage (53.3), free throw percentage (82.1), and blocks (10).

•    Northwestern has struggled offensively this season and ranks last in the conference in scoring offense (62.5), field goal percentage (39.4), free throw percentage (62.9), and 3-point field goal percentage (23.4). The Rangers are second in the conference in scoring defense (68.5) and offensive rebounds (12.5).