SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Marko Rangan recorded his second career double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Reggie Webster surpassed 500 career points with 21, and the Harding men's basketball team overcame a 46-point outburst from Drury's KeShaun Thomas to earn a 92-87 road victory Friday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
The win lifted Harding to 3-2 on the season and marked the program's first-ever road victory in Springfield against the Panthers (0-1). Entering Friday, the Bisons were 0-6 all-time in Springfield in a series dating back to 1962, with the two programs meeting for the first time since Dec. 8, 2007.
Harding placed four scorers in double figures and controlled nearly every hustle category to withstand a historic individual performance from Thomas. The Drury sophomore forward finished with 46 points on 14-of-21 shooting and 17-of-21 at the free-throw line to go with 12 rebounds. Thomas' 46 points were the most scored by a Harding opponent since Southeastern Oklahoma State's Anton Cook poured in 48 against the Bisons on Feb. 23, 2017, a game Harding also won.
While Thomas accounted for more than half of Drury's offense, Harding countered with depth, relentless offensive rebounding and late-game free-throw shooting. The Bisons led for 38:43 of the 40 minutes, outscored the Panthers 50-36 in the paint and turned 21 offensive rebounds into a 23-11 advantage in second-chance points.
First-Half Surge & Buzzer-Beater
Making his first start of the season, third-year guard Ornette Gaines opened the scoring with a pull-up jumper in the paint, and Harding never looked back after regaining the lead at 10-9 on a Ty Suess driving layup at the 14:32 mark of the first half.
Rangan dominated the opening period, scoring 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds before the break. With Harding leading 30-25 midway through the half, Rangan sparked an 8-0 run with a hook shot in the paint, followed by two free throws from Bradley Land.
Webster reached a personal milestone late in the half. Entering the afternoon with 495 career points, the second-year guard from Mount Pleasant, Texas, buried a second-chance 3-pointer from the wing with 1:50 remaining to eclipse the 500-point mark in just his 37th collegiate game.
After Drury trimmed the deficit to five in the final 30 seconds, Rangan delivered an exclamation point at the horn, knocking down a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Harding into the locker room with a 46-38 advantage.
Holding Off the Panthers
Harding pushed its lead to double digits early in the second half. Following a Rangan tip-in, second-year guard Dylan Hall swiped a steal and fed Webster for a fast-break dunk, and Webster added two free throws to stretch the cushion to 52-40 with 18:21 to play.
Drury chipped away behind Thomas and Elijah Edosa, cutting the margin to 54-50 on a Thomas fast-break layup at the 16:21 mark. Harding responded immediately with an 8-0 surge—highlighted by a Land two-handed dunk, a Webster breakaway slam and two Land free throws—to restore its 12-point lead at 62-50 with 12:16 remaining.
The Panthers refused to fade down the stretch. After Kevin Sargeant tipped in a miss to pull Drury within 74-71 with 5:39 left, Gaines buried a clutch second-chance 3-pointer off a Ben Fox assist and sank two free throws to push the lead back to eight.
Thomas converted a free throw with 3:07 left to make it 81-77, setting up the game's decisive sequence. Following a missed 3-pointer, Rangan battled inside for his 11th rebound of the afternoon and kicked the ball out to Gaines, who found fourth-year guard Rece Hipp open on the left wing. Hipp buried the second-chance triple with 2:29 remaining to give Harding an 84-77 cushion.
Thomas scored four straight points to bring Drury within 85-81 with 55 seconds on the clock, but the Bisons sealed the victory at the charity stripe. Fourth-year guard Ty Suess calmly sank four consecutive free throws in the final 47 seconds, and Webster added three more in the closing 35 seconds as Harding went 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) from the foul line in the second half.
Inside the Box Score
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Marko Rangan tied his career highs with 23 points and 11 rebounds while setting a new career best with 11 made field goals (11-of-20). He also added three steals, two assists and two blocked shots.
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Reggie Webster finished with 21 points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals, moving his career scoring total to 516 points.
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Ornette Gaines set a new career high with 16 points (5-of-11 FG, 2-of-7 3PT, 4-of-4 FT) in 31 minutes, surpassing his previous best of 15 set against Southeastern Oklahoma State in February 2025.
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Ty Suess posted 14 points and eight rebounds (four offensive) off the bench, going a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
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Bradley Land added nine points and five rebounds, while Dylan Hall tallied four points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in his first start of the season.
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Harding shot 43.8 percent from the field (32-of-73) and 82.1 percent at the free-throw line (23-of-28) while forcing 17 Drury turnovers that led to 20 Bison points.
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Edosa was the only other Panther in double figures with 15 points (4-of-7 FG, 7-of-7 FT).
Up Next
Harding wraps up play at the Central Region Challenge on Saturday afternoon, facing Southwest Baptist in a neutral-site contest in Springfield. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
