Harding Game Notes

Harding Men's Basketball

Harding (10-9, 7-6) vs. Southwestern Oklahoma (12-7, 9-4)

Location: Rhodes Field House, Searcy, Ark.

Time: 4 p.m.

Series: Tied 6-6

Coaches: Harding – Jeff Morgan (359-231, 21st season at HU; 376-241, 22nd season overall); Southwestern Oklahoma - Bob Battisti (12-7, 1st season at SWOSU)

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)

• Harding plays the final game of a three-game homestand Saturday at 4 p.m. when it hosts Southwestern Oklahoma in Great American Conference play at the Rhodes Field House.

• Harding enters the game 10-9 overall and 7-6 in the GAC. The Bisons are in fifth place in the GAC standings among tournament-eligible teams. Southwestern Oklahoma is 12-7 overall and 9-4 in conferenceand are currently in second place.

• Jacob Gibson made five 3-pointers and led the Bisons with 22 points in a 65-58 loss to Northwestern Oklahoma on Thursday. It was Harding's lowest scoring output of the season. Weston Jameson had nine assists and no turnovers, and Hayden Johnson scored 13 points.

• Southwestern Oklahoma is coming off an 85-77 loss at Arkansas Tech on Thursday, its second consecutive loss. The teams combined for 24 3-pointers and shot 53 free throws. Rod Camphor led the Bulldogs with 24 points and made five 3-pointers.

• Harding and Southwestern Oklahoma are the two best teams in the GAC in protecting the basketball. The Bulldogs average a GAC-low 9.4 turnovers with the Bisons second at 11.1 turnovers. Harding is the only GAC team with more assists than turnovers.

Inside the Series:
•    Harding and Southwestern Oklahoma are meeting for the 13th time with the series tied at 6-6. Harding holds a 4-1 series lead in Searcy and have won the last four straight.

•    Harding won the first meeting between the teams this season, 89-65 in Weatherford, Okla. Hayden Johnson led the Bisons with 26 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 9-of-13 at the free throw line. Harding made 13 3-pointers and shot 24-of-30 at the free throw line. Jacob Gibson added 14 points.

•    Rod Camphor made three of Southwestern's six 3-pointers and led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Michael Bradley added 12 points off the bench. Southwestern shot only 27 percent in the first half, and Harding led 46-22 at halftime.

Additional Harding Notes:
•    Upcoming milestones: Weston Jameson needs 10 assists to move past Aaron Farley (416, 1998-2003) into fifth on Harding's career assist 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 (1,110 points) and needs 30 points to pass Gary Baker (1972-76, 1,139 points) for 24th ... Jacob Gibson needs 10 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 (5.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.6). His ratio ranks third in Division II, and his per-game average is 32nd. 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 14-10 vs. Oklahoma opponents and 14-11 vs. Arkansas opponents.

•    Sophomore Jacob Gibson needs only 10 3s to move into Harding's single-season top 10. He has 54 3-pointers this season with 41 of those coming in the last nine games, and average of 4.56 per game. He averaged 9.0 points in the season's first 10 games and 21.8 points in the last nine.

Opponent Notes:
•    Southwestern Oklahoma is a charter member of the Great American Conference and is located in Weatherford, Okla. There is one former NBA player from Weatherford. Grady Lewis played three seasons (1946-49) with the Detroit Falcons, St. Louis Bombers and Baltimore Bullets.

•    The Bulldogs are 12-7 overall and 9-4 in the GAC. Southwestern Oklahoma is 7-1 on the road this season, including 5-1 in conference games. The Bulldogs' 85-77 loss at Arkansas Tech on Thursday was their first road loss of the season.

•    Bob Battisti, a 1981 graduate of Minnesota State-Mankato., is in his first season as head coach. He coached 22 previous seasons at Northwestern Oklahoma State from 1985-2007.

•    Southwestern Oklahoma has an outstanding turnover record this season. The Bulldogs have only 175 turnovers this season, the fewest of any team in Division II. Southwestern averages only 9.2 turnovers, fifth in Division II in turnovers per game.