Harding (3-3, 1-0) vs. Southern Arkansas (2-2, 1-1)
Dec. 4, 2014 • W.T. Watson Center • Magnolia, Ark. • 7:30 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Radio: KVHU 95.3-FM
Internet:
    Audio: www.HardingSports.com
    Video: www.HardingSports.com
Live Stats: www.HardingSports.com

THE COACHES
Jeff Morgan, Harding
    at Harding: 367-240 (21st season)
    Career: 384-250 (22nd season)
    vs. Southern Arkansas: 26-13
Andy Sharpe, Southern Arkansas
    at SAU: 24-35 (3rd season)
    Career: 192-105 (10th season)

THE SERIES
Series Record: SAU leads 69-48
in Magnolia: SAU leads 42-15
First Meeting: SAU 64-61 (11/23/1957)
Last Meeting: SAU 81-77 (2/20/2014)
Current Streak: SAU, 1 game

TODAY'S NOTES
Harding plays the first of two consecutive Great American Conference games against Arkansas foes when it travels to Magnolia on Thursday to meet Southern Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. It is HU's first conference game since opening GAC play with a 64-52 home victory over Southwestern Oklahoma on Nov. 22.

Harding junior Andraz Kavas enters Thursday's game ranked fourth in the GAC in scoring (20.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) and sixth in field-goal percentage (59.2).

Harding enters the game 3-3 overall and 1-0 in the GAC. The Bisons lost both games at the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic in Canyon, Texas, on 3-pointers with fewer than five seconds remaining.

Southern Arkansas is playing only its fifth game. The Muleriders are 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the GAC. SAU is coming off a 93-85 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday in its first road game of the season.

Thursday's game is a matchup of the top two 3-point shooting teams in the GAC. Both Harding and Southern Arkansas average 9.3 3-pointers made per game.

Harding Team Notes:
•    Junior Jacob Gibson made three 3-pointers against Eastern New Mexico to surpass 100 made 3s in his career. He currently ranks 20th in program history with 102 3-pointers. Cole Kee (2004-07) is 19th with 103 3s.

•    Harding enters the game as the GAC leader in free-throw percentage at 77.8 percent. The Bisons have shot better than 70 percent in each of its last five games. Three Harding players are in the GAC top 10 in the category--Blake McNair, 2nd (94.4%), Johnthan McGee, 4th (85.7%), and Will Francis, 8th (83.3%).

•    Harding enters the game ranked first in the GAC with 19.0 assists per game. The Bisons have had more than 20 assists in a game three times. McGee and Francis lead the Bisons and rank third in the GAC with 4.0 assists per game.

Series Notes:
•    Harding and Southern Arkansas are meeting for the 118th time with the Muleriders leading the series 69-48. The Bisons have won only 15 times in 57 visits to Magnolia, but have won three of the last four in Magnolia and nine of the last 10 overall. Harding is 5-1 vs. Southern Arkansas in regular season GAC games.

•    The teams split two meetings last season, both winning at home. The Bisons won 92-80 in Searcy, and the Muleriders snapped a nine-game losing streak to Harding with an 81-77 victory in Magnolia.

•    Francis averaged 15.0 points in Harding's two games against Southern Arkansas last season and had seven assists against only one turnover. Gibson averaged 20.5 points vs. the Muleriders and scored 28 points in the game in Searcy. McNair made six 3-pointers last year against Southern Arkansas and averaged 14.5 points.

•    Series Individual Records, Harding vs. Southern Arkansas:
    Points - 34, Steven Blake (2/14/2011) and Ned Boaz (1/12/1965)
    Rebounds - 16, Zach Roddenberry (1/17/2013)
    Assists - 12, Jerry Morgan (2/7/1977)

Opponent Notes:
•    Southern Arkansas enters the game 2-2 overall and 1-1 in GAC action. The Muleriders are 2-1 at home.

•    SAU leads the GAC with 15.8 offensive rebounds per game. The Muleriders have scored 64 second-chance points this season and outscored their opponents on second-chance points in all four games. Senior Alre'k Brown leads the GAC with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game.

•    Southern Arkansas is last in the GAC and last in NCAA II in free-throw percentage. The Muleriders are shooting only 48.4 percent from the free-throw line and have made more than 50 percent of their free throws in only one of their four games.

•    Jaron Davis, a junior transfer from New Orleans, is Southern Arkansas' leading scorer at 15.3 points per game. He also leads the team with 16 assists and nine steals.

•    Davis and Chauncey Williams have combined to make 29 of Southern Arkansas' 37 3-pointers. The two have combined to shoot 48.3 percent.