ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Devon Hancock scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Ouachita Baptist to a 66-55 victory over Harding on Thursday night at Vining Arena, leaving the Tigers as the sole unbeaten team in Great American Conference play.

In a battle for first place between the league's top two squads, Ouachita Baptist (8-2, 4-0 GAC) utilized a blistering start to the second half to snap Harding's (8-3, 4-1) eight-game winning streak. The Bisons return to action Jan. 3 at home against Southern Arkansas.

Harding senior Keyln McBride led the Bisons with 22 points, hitting 4-of-7 from 3-point range. However, the Bisons struggled offensively against the GAC's top-ranked defense, shooting just 36.7 percent from the field and scoring a season-low 55 points.

The game was a defensive grind in the first half, with Ouachita clinging to a 30-28 lead at the break. The Tigers broke the game open immediately after halftime with a 13-3 run, highlighted by two 3-pointers from Hancock and another from Crew Flowers. That burst extended the lead to 43-31 with 15:23 remaining, and Harding never drew closer than six points the rest of the way.

Hancock finished 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep. 

Freshman Reggie Webster added nine points and five rebounds for Harding before fouling out with 42 seconds remaining. Marko Rangan contributed eight points and four rebounds off the bench.

Ouachita Baptist shot 51.1 percent for the game and controlled the paint, outscoring the Bisons 30-20 inside.

McBride, who entered the night needing eight 3-pointers to reach 200 for his career, made four triples, moving his career total to 196.