MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Harding pushed Great American Conference East Division regular season champion Southern Arkansas into overtime Saturday before falling 78-72 at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

With the loss, Harding completed the regular season 4-10. The Bisons are the No. 6 seed from the East Division and play No. 3 seed Henderson State Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Arkadelphia.

After a slow shooting start in the second half, Harding made 8 of its last 14 shots and tied the game on Stetson Smithson's putback layup with 14 seconds remaining.

Southern Arkansas made 6 of 9 shots in the overtime period and outscored Harding 18-12 in the extra session.

"This team has really gotten better in the last couple of weeks," Harding head coach Jeff Morgan said. "Even though we got off to a bad start offensively, we did not give up our intensity on the defensive end."

Romio Harvey led Harding with 20 points, hitting five of Harding's 10 3-pointers. James Harris added 16, and Tyler Moore scored 12.

Aaron Lucas and Jalen Brooks both scored 16 to lead Southern Arkansas.

Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello both finished the regular season 12-4, but Arkansas-Monticello won the tiebreaker and will be the No. 1 seed from the East Division.

Harding struggled from the field early and trailed 22-8 with 8:26 left in the first half. The Bisons responded with a 17-5 run over the next five minutes and cut the Mulerider lead to 24-22. Another 7-2 spurt pulled Harding within 30-29, but Southern Arkansas' Aaron Lucas made a layup on the last possession to give the Muleriders a 32-29 lead.