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Harding University Athletics

HU men vs. OKBU
Jacob Gibson made five 3-pointers and led Harding with 23 points.
65
Okla. Baptist OBU 3-3, 1-3 GAC
79
Winner Harding HU 4-3, 3-1 GAC
Okla. Baptist OBU
3-3, 1-3 GAC
65
Final
79
Harding HU
4-3, 3-1 GAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Okla. Baptist OBU 26 39 65
Harding HU 44 35 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | by Scott Goode (12/5/15)

Harding Men's Basketball Shoots Past Oklahoma Baptist for Third Straight Victory

SEARCY – Harding senior Jacob Gibson made five 3-pointers, including four in the second half, to score 23 points and lead the Bisons to a 79-65 victory over Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday in Great American Conference action at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

Harding had another outstanding shooting effort, connecting on 51 percent overall and 58 percent in the first half.

Harding held Oklahoma Baptist to only 36 percent shooting in the first half and led 44-26 at the break. The 18-point halftime lead was Harding's largest of the season.

Oklahoma Baptist turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and improved its shooting to 50 percent, trimming the Harding lead to as few as three points at 56-53 with 9:05 left. Bison seniors Blake McNair and Gibson answered with 3-pointers on Harding's next two possessions and an 11-0 run put the game away.

Harding led by as many as 16 down the stretch.

McNair had 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore Reggie Anthony scored 13 points and had six rebounds and seven assists. Senior Andraz Kavas added 11 points.
Steven Green led Oklahoma Baptist with 19 points.

RECORDS
Harding won its third straight game and improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the GAC. Harding took a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams last played in 1986.

Oklahoma Baptist lost its second straight and fell to 3-3 overall and 1-3 in conference. The Bison also lost Thursday, falling 85-60 to Arkansas Tech in Russellville.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
Harding shot 58 percent overall and made 15 of 19 shots inside the arc.

Sophomore Reggie Anthony came off the bench to score 12 points in the half. He was 6 of 7 from the field and had four of Harding's nine assists.

Oklahoma Baptist shot 36 percent and missed 9 of 11 3-pointers.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
Gibson made 4 of 8 from 3-point range and led Harding with 14 points. McNair had 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists, playing the entire second half.

Green had 17 of his 19 points in the second half for Oklahoma Baptist.

Oklahoma Baptist outscored Harding 18-4 in the paint and 12-0 off turnovers in the half but only outscored Harding 39-35 overall.

TEAM STATS
Harding shot over 50 percent for the second time this season. The Bisons' best shooting effort of the season was 53.2 percent in the win at Northwestern Oklahoma.

Harding made 10 3-pointers for the second time this season. The Bisons made 12 3-pointers at Southwestern Oklahoma.

Harding had a +13 rebound advantage (39-26), its largest of the season.

Harding committed a season-low 12 fouls. Oklahoma Baptist shot only eight free throws, making all eight.

Harding had 13 offensive rebounds, its second straight game with more than 10. The Bisons had a 15-8 advantage in second-chance points.

INDIVIDUAL STATS
Gibson's 23 points were a season high and the 11th time in his career he scored 20 or more points.

McNair had 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. He had never had more than eight rebounds in a game.

Anthony had 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists. It is the first time in his career that he has had more than 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in the same game.

UP NEXT
Harding plays the first of back-to-back games against Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday in Searcy. Tipoff at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House is at 7:30 p.m.
 

by Jeff Montgomery

Posted by Harding Sports on Saturday, December 5, 2015


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