Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

Harding (12-10, 9-7) at Southern Arkansas (10-12, 6-10)

Location: Watson Athletic Center, Magnolia, Ark.

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Series: SAU leads 68-48

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (361-232, 21st season at HU; 378-242, 22nd season overall); Southern Arkansas - Andy Sharpe (20-29, 2nd season at SAU)

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)

• The two highest-scoring teams in the Great American Conference square off Thursday in Magnolia as Harding travels to meet Southern Arkansas at the Watson Athletic Center at 7:30 p.m.

• Harding enters the game 12-10 overall and 9-7 in the GAC. The Bisons are in fourth place in the GAC standings among tournament-eligible teams. Southern Arkansas is 10-12 overall and 6-10 in conference. The Muleriders are in seventh place.

• Harding is coming off a 91-88 overtime loss to Henderson State on Monday in Arkadelphia. The Bisons trailed by 18 points with 6:06 remaining but rallied to send the game to overtime on John Hudson's banked 3-pointer at the buzzer. Hayden Johnson led five Bisons in double figures with 21 points.

• Southern Arkansas fell 58-56 at home to Southern Nazarene last Thursday. The Muleriders shot only 39.6 percent made only nine free throws. Jeffrey Walker led the Muleriders with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Duke Reed and Chauncy Williams had 11.

• Harding and Southern Arkansas are the two highest-scoring teams in the Great American Conference. The Muleriders are tops at 78.4 points per game with the Bisons second at 77.3. Southern Arkansas is last in scoring defense, allowing 74.3 points.

Inside the Series:
•    Harding and Southern Arkansas are meeting for the 117th time with the Muleriders leading the series 68-48. Southern Arkansas leads 41-15 in games played in Magnolia, but Harding has won a series-long nine straight against SAU. The Bisons have won three straight at the Watson Athletic Center.

•    Harding won the first meeting between the teams this season, 92-80 at the Rhodes Field House. Jacob Gibson made 10-of-17 shots and led Harding with 28 points. The Bisons had 21 assists and only five turnovers. Harding shot 50 percent and made 10 3-pointers and 22-of-33 free throws.

•    Southern Arkansas was led by Chauncy Williams' 25 points. He made 7-of-14 from 3-point range. Alre'k Brown made 10-of-12 shots, scored 24 points, and led SAU with nine rebounds. The Muleriders were outscored 22-10 at the free throw line.

Additional Harding Notes:
•    Upcoming milestones: Weston Jameson needs 33 assists to move past Darren McCrillis (456, 2000-04) into fourth on Harding's career assist list ... Hayden Johnson needs five blocked shots to pass Zach Roddenberry for third place on Harding's career list ... Johnson is 22nd on HU's career scoring list (1,191 points) and needs six points to pass Trent Morgan (2006-10, 1,196 points) for 21st ... Jacob Gibson needs four 3-pointers to move into HU's single season top 10.

•    Harding guard Weston Jameson leads the Great American Conference in both assists per game (5.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.81). Jameson is 2nd in Division II in assist-to-turnover ratio and ranks 28th in assists.

•    In its third season in the GAC, Harding is 15-10 vs. Oklahoma opponents and 15-12 vs. Arkansas opponents.

•    Harding tied a season high by making 15 3-pointers in its game against Henderson State on Monday. The Bisons have made 10 or more 3-pointers 12 times this season and are ranked 13th in Division II with 10.2 3-pointers per game.

Opponent Notes:
•    Southern Arknasas is a charter member of the Great American Conference and is located in Magnolia, Ark. Southern Arkansas was founded in 1909 as Third District Agricultural School.

•    The Muleriders are 10-12 overall and 6-10 in conference play. Southern Arkansas is 8-5 at home, including 4-4 in GAC games. SAU has lost four of its last five overall.

•    Andy Sharpe, a 2002 graduate of Reinhardt, is in his second season at Southern Arkansas. He also coached two seasons at Emmanuel (Ga.) from 2005-07 and five seasons at Martin Methodist (2007-12).

•    Southern Arkansas is the highest scoring team in the GAC and has topped 80 points nine times. The team has scored more than 100 points three times, all against non-NCAA opponents.

•    Southern Arkansas has the top shot blocker in the conference in junior Alre'k Brown. The Dawson, Ga., native has 49 blocked shots and has had at least one blocked shots in 21 of Southern Arkansas' 22 games. He ranks 13th in Division II with 2.7 blocks per game.