ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Ouachita Baptist made 31 free throws and never trailed in an 81-75 victory over Harding on Saturday in Great American Conference action at Vining Arena.
Harding (5-7, 3-3) shot 53 percent from the field and made 10 3-pointers but had 20 turnovers that led to 23 points for Ouachita Baptist. The Tigers (8-2, 3-1) remained unbeaten in six home games.
"We turned it over way too much," Harding head coach Jeff Morgan said. "We were too soft with the basketball."
The Bisons return to action next Saturday, taking on the Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm at 3 p.m., in Durant, Oklahoma.
Harding trailed 39-29 at halftime and fell behind by 15 early in the second half. The Bisons got as close as five points when Jacob Gibson made a free throw with 6:15 remaining that made the score 62-57.
Ouachita Baptist scored the next eight points and led by at least six the rest of the way. A 3-pointer by Andraz Kavas cut the Ouachita lead to 76-70 with 1:16 left, but Tiger guard David Berete, who led the Tigers with 18 points, hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with two seconds left on the shot clock to ice the game.
"I thought we guarded it great," Morgan said. "He just hit a long 3-pointer."
Kavas led the Bisons with 19 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, and had a team-high six rebounds. John Hudson made six 3-pointers for the second time this season and scored 18 points. Antoine Burrell added 11 points, and Blake McNair scored 10 points.
Berete made 5-of-9 from the field and all six free-throw attempts. Only one of the eight players that attempted free throws for the Tigers missed, and the team finished 31-of-34 (91 percent).
"We shot it well," Morgan said. "You just can't give up 34 free throws."
Harding never led in the first half and trailed by as many as 17 points when Ouachita Baptist took a 35-18 advantage on a David Berete 3-pointer with 5:21 left.
The Tigers led 39-23 with 2:48 left, but Harding went on a 6-0 run to close the half. Jacob Gibson and Andraz Kavas both hit jumpers, and Blake McNair made a layup with 18 seconds left to cut Ouachita's lead to 39-29 at halftime.
Ouachita made 11 of its first 16 shots but closed the half by missing five straight and shot 52 percent for the half. The Tigers made all 13 free throws in the half. Harding made six of its last eight shots of the half and shot 46 percent.
