SEARCY, Ark. — A dominant first-half surge and a scorching shooting night for Keyln McBride powered Harding to an 87-54 rout of Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday night at Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
With the victory, Harding (11-4, 7-2 GAC) improved to a perfect 8-0 at home this season and extended its home winning streak to 12 games, moving within one win of the school record.
McBride led the Bisons with 15 points, connecting on 5-of-9 from 3-point range. His performance moved him past Aaron Farley into third place on Harding's career 3-pointers list with 208 made threes.
The Bisons seized control early, opening the game on an 18-3 run fueled by a stifling defense that held Southeastern (4-11, 3-6 GAC) to just one field goal in the first seven minutes. After the Savage Storm briefly cut the deficit to 26-19 midway through the first half, Harding responded with a decisive 17-2 run to close the period. Wesley Booker punctuated the half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the right wing, sending the Bisons into the locker room with a commanding 45-24 lead. It was one of Harding's season-high 15 3s.
Harding shot a blistering 51.6% in the first half and never let up, extending its lead to as many as 36 points in the second half.
Reggie Webster matched McBride with 15 points on efficient 5-of-6 shooting. Booker finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, recording his sixth double-double of the season. Marko Rangan added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, as 12 different Bisons found the scoring column.
Harding dominated every facet of the game, outrebounding the Storm 39-25 and forcing 16 turnovers which they converted into 18 points. The Bisons also controlled the paint (30-20) and second-chance points (16-9).
Chandler Dickinson led Southeastern with a game-high 18 points and 15 rebounds, but the Storm struggled to find secondary scoring against Harding's defense, shooting just 37.5% for the game.
Harding returns to action Saturday afternoon, hosting East Central at 3 p.m. with a chance to tie the school record for consecutive home wins.
