SEARCY – Harding erased a 12-point deficit in the second half and rallied to defeat Great American Conference leader Southern Arkansas 75-71 on Saturday before an overflow crowd of 2,950 at Rhodes Field House.

Harding (11-8, 9-4) remained unbeaten in eight home conference games this season and pulled into a tie with Southern Arkansas for second place in the GAC standings. It was the sixth straight victory for the Bisons overall and the 13th straight against the Muleriders in Searcy.

Southern Arkansas (13-6, 9-4) missed 22 of their 27 3-point attempts, including two in the final minute that would have given the Muleriders the lead.

Harding weathered a six-minute scoring drought in the second half and fell behind 55-43 with 11:00 left on a Tyrell Taylor 3-pointer. The Bisons responded with a 20-3 run over the next six minutes. Harding retook the lead at 58-57 on Andraz Kavas' three-point play with just under 7:00 left and led the rest of the way.

Harding was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line in the game's final three minutes. Blake McNair made four straight down the stretch to put the game out of reach.

The Bisons made 13 3-pointers in the game, shooting exactly half of their 62 shots from behind the arc. Will Francis tied his career high by making six 3-pointers to account for all of his 18 points. Kavas and Jacob Gibson both made three 3-pointers and both had 20 points.

Alre'k Brown led Southern Arkansas with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jaron Davis shot 16 3-pointers, hitting only three, and finished with 12 points. DJ Fyre scored 16, and Kevin Jordan had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Harding plays five of its last seven games on the road beginning Thursday at Northwestern Oklahoma.