Harding Hosts Arkansas Tech in Thursday GAC Showdown

Harding Game Notes

Harding (7-8, 5-4) vs. Arkansas Tech (8-9, 4-5)
Jan. 22, 2015 • Rhodes Field House • Searcy, 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: 371-245 (21st season)
Career: 388-255 (22nd season)
vs. Arkansas Tech: 24-19
Chad Cline, Arkansas Tech
at ATU: 8-9 (1st season)
Career: same

THE SERIES
Series Record: Tech leads 61-56
in Searcy: HU leads 31-23
First Meeting: Tech 84-64 (1/13/1958)
Last Meeting: HU 83-64 (3/8/2014)
Current Streak: HU, 1 game

Harding goes in search of its seventh straight home victory Thursday as it hosts Arkansas Tech on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Rhodes Field House. It is the third of four straight home games.

Harding enters the game with a 7-8 overall record and 5-4 GAC mark. The Bisons have won their last two games and have risen to fourth in the GAC standings. Harding defeated Southern Nazarene 80-55 on Saturday with Andraz Kavas leading the Bisons with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jacob Gibson added 18 points.

Arkansas Tech is 8-9 overall and 4-5 in the GAC., The Wonder Boys are part of a four-way tie for fifth in the conference standings. Tech is coming off a 70-68 home loss to East Central on Saturday. Mike Balogun made six 3-pointers and led Tech with 23 points.

Harding junior forward Andraz Kavas earned his first Great American Conference Player of the Week award on Monday. Kavas led Harding to two wins last week, averaging 22.0 points.

Harding is 5-0 in home conference games this season and has compiled a 26-7 conference record at the Rhodes Field House in three-plus seasons as a member of the GAC.

Harding Team Notes:
In Harding's nine conference games, the Bisons have made 32 more 3-pointers than their opponents. Harding has made 98 and shot 41 percent, and opponents have made 66 and shots 34 percent.

John Hudson is shooting 50 percent (18-of-36) from 3-point range in conference games. Blake McNair has made 48 percent (25-of-52). Kavas leads Harding with 18.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in GAC games.

Harding is 7-1 at home this season and averaged 13.9 points per game more at home (83.9) than on the road (70.0). The Bisons shoot 51 percent from the field at home and 43.5 percent from 3-point range. Harding shoots better from the free-throw line on the road (73 percent to 72 percent).

Blake McNair has shot 60 percent (24-of-40) from 3-point range at home and averages 14.8 points. Kavas leads Harding with 18.6 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game at home.

Series Notes:
Harding and Arkansas Tech are meeting for the 118th time with the Wonder Boys leading the series 61-56. The Bisons hold a 31-23 advantage in games played in Searcy. From 2001-07, Harding won seven straight home games against Arkansas Tech, but have won only two of the last seven in Searcy since then.

Arkansas Tech won both regular-season meetings last season, but the Bisons defeated the Wonder Boys 83-64 in the semifinals of the GAC Tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Jacob Gibson averaged 14.0 points and made 12-of-22 3-pointers in three games against Arkansas Tech last season., Blake McNair averaged 10.7 points and had 15 assists, and Andraz Kavas averaged 9.0 points in two games in 2012-13.

Series Individual Records, Harding vs. Arkansas Tech:
Points - 47, Ronnie Brown (12/17/1965) -- Harding record
Rebounds - 23, Freddie Dixon (2/8/1973)
Assists - 10, Steven Barnett (3/7/2009)

Opponent Notes:
Arkansas Tech is 8-9 overall and 4-5 in GAC Games. The Wonder Boys are 1-4 on the road, including 1-2 in GAC road games. Arkansas Tech's lone road victory was a 76-58 win at Northwestern Oklahoma on Jan. 8.

Arkansas Tech ranks second in the GAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense. The Wonder Boys have held seven opponents to less than 30 percent shooting from 3-point range. Only two opponents have made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game, while Harding has made 10 or more 3-pointers 10 times in 15 games.

Senior Mike Balogun, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard from Staten Island, N.Y., leads the Wonder Boys in scoring with 14.1 points per game. He transferred from Southern Illinois, where he averaged 3.0 points as a junior. He ranks second in the GAC in free-throw percentage (82.3).

Senior Clarence Willard, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound guard from Lubbock, Texas, ranks in the top 10 in the GAC with 3.3 assists per game and a 1.21 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#22 John Hudson: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#44 Andraz Kavas: F; 6' 10"; Junior

#23 Blake McNair: G; 6' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#22 John Hudson
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#44 Andraz Kavas
: 6' 10"; Junior
: F

#23 Blake McNair
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#22 John Hudson

#44 Andraz Kavas

#23 Blake McNair

Players Mentioned

#22 John Hudson

#44 Andraz Kavas

#23 Blake McNair