WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — Reigning Great American Conference Freshman of the Year Reggie Webster scored a game-high 24 points and Marko Rangan added 17 inside as the Harding Bisons rebounded in dominant fashion Saturday night, defeating Northern Michigan 75-59 at JustAgame Fieldhouse in the Midwest Region Tip-Off Challenge.
The victory evened Harding's record at 1-1 on the young season and marked the first-ever meeting between the Bisons and the Wildcats (1-1), who won the GLIAC regular-season crown a season ago.
Twenty-four hours after seeing their 784-game 3-point streak snapped in an 0-for-13 perimeter performance against No. 17 Grand Valley State, the Bisons quickly started a new streak. Third-year forward Marko Rangan drilled a top-of-the-key triple at the 16:30 mark of the first half for Harding's first long-range basket of the season, sparking an offensive attack that clicked from all three levels.
Harding shot an even 50.0 percent from the field (27-of-54) and knocked down 6-of-18 from beyond the arc, led by Webster's 4-of-7 display from distance.
First-Half Blitz
After Northern Michigan grabbed a brief 13-11 lead on a Caden Gustafson layup with 13:39 left in the opening period, the Bisons took complete control with a devastating 29-9 run over the next 11 minutes.
Bradley Land triggered the spurt with an inside layup, and Webster followed with a fast-break score to put Harding ahead for good. Minutes later, Webster buried a pair of contested 3-pointers, and third-year guard Ornette Gaines came off the bench to ignite a 9-0 flurry with back-to-back fast-break layups and a corner 3-pointer.
A Webster layup with 2:40 remaining in the half pushed Harding's lead to its largest of the night at 18 points (40-22). The Bisons carried a 40-27 cushion into the locker room after shooting 54.2 percent (13-of-24) in the first 20 minutes while converting 10-of-11 free throws.
Withstanding the Wildcat Charge
Northern Michigan refused to go quietly in the second half. Led by Pryce Gregoire and Kyle Olagbegi, the Wildcats capitalized on a series of Bison fouls to mount a 9-0 run, trimming Harding's lead to 56-49 with 9:44 remaining.
However, the Bisons' frontcourt answered immediately. Land drove the lane for a contested bucket, and Rangan converted back-to-back second-chance putbacks off offensive rebounds to keep NMU at bay at 60-51. Free throws from Land and Toby Pike shortly after pushed the advantage back into double digits at 62-51 with under six minutes to play.
Webster delivered the dagger with 4:39 remaining, draining his fourth triple of the night from the right wing to stretch the lead to 67-51. Fourth-year guard Ty Suess punctuated the win with a two-handed breakaway dunk in the final minute.
Inside the Box Score
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Reggie Webster turned in one of the finest scoring games of his young career, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting (4-of-7 from 3-point range) and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in 35 minutes.
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Marko Rangan continued his hot start to the season, scoring 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting while grabbing six rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
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Fifth-year transfer Bradley Land reached double figures for the first time in a Bison uniform, scoring 10 points with six rebounds and two assists.
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Second-year forward Toby Pike posted a career-high 10 rebounds (four offensive) to anchor Harding's interior defense, adding seven points, two assists, two steals, and a block.
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Ornette Gaines provided instant energy off the bench with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in 13 minutes.
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Harding outrebounded Northern Michigan 38-32 and controlled the paint by a 38-28 margin.
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The Bisons limited Northern Michigan to just 37.9 percent shooting from the floor (22-of-58) and 24.0 percent from 3-point range (6-of-25). NMU also struggled at the charity stripe, finishing 9-of-19 (47.4 percent).
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Gregoire led the Wildcats with 13 points, while Ross Robertson scored 11 off the bench and Olagbegi added 10.
Up Next
Harding concludes its three-game stay at the Midwest Region Tip-Off Challenge on Sunday afternoon, taking on former Lone Star Conference rival Central Oklahoma. Tip-off is set for 3:45 p.m. at JustAgame Fieldhouse.
