MONTICELLO, Ark. – Arkansas-Monticello hit two shots in the final minute to break a tie and upset No. 18 Harding 65-62 Thursday in both teams' Great American Conference opener at Steelman Field House.

Harding trailed 58-50 midway through the fourth quarter but went on an 8-0 run to tie the game with 1:26 left on a Peyton Padgett free throw. Berniezha Tidwell, who led all scorers with 23 points, and Pamela Bethel hit layups down the stretch to give the Blossoms the lead for good.

"We got beat by a better team tonight," Harding head coach Tim Kirby said. "There was not one aspect of the game where they were not better than us."

Harding (3-1, 0-1) had won the previous 16 meetings with Arkansas-Monticello.

"We've got to go get better," Kirby said. "We just can't let teams outplay us like that."

Arkansas-Monticello (5-0, 1-0) entered the game with the top-ranked defense in Division II and held Harding to only 35% shooting and a season-low scoring output.

"UAM had great ball pressure and really forced the issue," Kirby said.

After shooting a sizzling 56% in the first quarter, Harding made only five shots over the next two quarters.

Tidwell made 9 of 13 shots to lead UAM and added eight rebounds and six assists.

Kelly Lampo and Carissa Caples led Harding with 12 points each. Lampo had a team-high 12 rebounds. Jacie Evans scored 11 points and had a team-high four steals, and Peyton Padgett had nine points and five assists.

Harding plays its second straight road game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Southern Arkansas.