WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — Fifth-year forward Bradley Land scored the go-ahead points at the free-throw line with 53 seconds remaining, and the Harding Bisons survived a chaotic final possession as the buzzer sounded to edge Central Oklahoma 66-65 on Sunday afternoon at JustAgame Fieldhouse.
The victory capped a successful opening weekend for the two-time defending Great American Conference champion Bisons (2-1), who won two of three games at the Midwest Region Tip-Off Challenge. Sunday's thriller also marked the first meeting between the former Lone Star Conference rivals since November 2001, giving Harding its second straight win in the series.
Dramatic Final Minute
Trailing 65-62 after Central Oklahoma forward Jacobi Sebock capped an 11-2 Broncho run with a driving layup with 1:50 remaining, Harding needed an immediate answer.
Land provided it. After an initial miss inside, the 6-foot-6 transfer collected his own offensive rebound and converted a second-chance putback to pull the Bisons within 65-64 with 1:28 to go.
On the ensuing UCO possession, the Bronchos earned a trip to the line, but Jack Robinson missed the front end of a one-and-one. Marko Rangan secured the defensive rebound, giving the Bisons a chance to regain the lead.
Working the ball into the high post, Land drew contact on a shot attempt from Sebock with 53.4 seconds left. Cool under pressure, Land calmly sank both free throws to push Harding back in front, 66-65.
The drama only escalated from there. On Central Oklahoma's next trip down the floor, third-year guard Ornette Gaines stripped Sebock on a drive with 42 seconds left to give Harding possession. The Bisons ran the shot clock down, but an open 3-pointer rimmed off with 13 seconds left.
UCO called timeout with nine seconds remaining to set up a final play. Sebock drove the right lane for a contested layup, but his attempt rimmed off. Robinson and Harding's Ty Suess simultaneously grabbed the rebound, resulting in a tie-up whistle. The alternating possession arrow favored Central Oklahoma, giving the Bronchos one final chance with one second left. UCO inbounded the ball to Lovelace in the corner, but his fallaway jumper along the baseline missed the mark as the horn sounded, securing the one-point victory for the Bisons.
First-Half Surge
Early on, Central Oklahoma (0-3) appeared in control behind hot perimeter shooting from Lovelace, who drained three consecutive 3-pointers to help the Bronchos jump out to a 14-6 advantage five minutes into the contest.
Harding answered with a balanced, perimeter-heavy attack that turned the game around before the break. Second-year guard Dylan Hall drove the lane to ignite a 7-0 run, and Ben Fox followed with a second-chance 3-pointer from the right wing to give Harding its first lead at 25-23.
Gaines caught fire late in the half, draining back-to-back 3-pointers and converting a three-point play during an eight-minute stretch where he scored all 11 of his points. Fourth-year guard Ty Suess buried a corner triple and followed with a fast-break layup to widen the margin to double digits.
Reigning GAC Freshman of the Year Reggie Webster punctuated the half, driving past two defenders for a finger-roll layup with one second remaining to give Harding a 41-30 cushion at the intermission. The Bisons shot 48.4 percent (15-of-31) and connected on 5-of-12 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
Inside the Box Score
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Bradley Land delivered his finest outing in a Bison uniform, scoring a team-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, 1-of-1 from 3-point range, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Land also added five rebounds and two blocked shots in 30 minutes.
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Ornette Gaines provided 11 critical points off the bench, knocking down two 3-pointers, going 3-for-3 from the charity stripe, and recording two steals with a game-best plus-12 plus/minus rating in 21 minutes.
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Reggie Webster finished with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists in 34 minutes, while Marko Rangan tallied eight points and seven rebounds.
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Second-year forward Toby Pike went 2-for-2 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line for seven points and five rebounds, giving him 15 total rebounds over the weekend's final two games.
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Ben Fox hit two 3-pointers for six points and four boards, while Dylan Hall and Ty Suess contributed five points apiece off the bench.
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Harding controlled the boards 39-36, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds that yielded 13 second-chance points. The Bisons converted 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the free-throw line.
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Central Oklahoma was paced by Sebock, who scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Lovelace finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, hitting 4-of-5 from 3-point range, while Robinson dished out nine assists to go with eight boards.
Up Next
Harding returns to Searcy before heading back on the road for another marquee non-conference test on Monday, Nov. 9, traveling to Huntsville, Alabama, to face No. 25 Alabama-Huntsville. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall.
