By: Houston Taylor
SEARCY, Ark. – Southern Arkansas’ 2-0 advantage at the beginning of the game was the only lead it saw as Harding (11-4, 1-1 GSC) rolled to a 79-61 Gulf South Conference win in front of 2,424 fans Thursday at Rhodes Field House.
Holding a 5-2 edge at the start, the Bisons used a 22-6 spurt over the next eight minutes for a 27-8 margin at 8:54 on one of Stephen Blake’s five three-pointers on the night.
Blake missed only one from beyond the arc in six attempts, combining with Sam Brown to go 10 of 13 from downtown as Harding shot 14 of 27 for 51.9 percent on treys for 42 of their 79 points.
Brown’s three at 3:29 pushed the Bisons to their largest first half lead at 37-16, and another bomb from Blake set the halftime margin at 40-20.
Kevin Brown’s conventional three-point play on a lay-up and free throw gave Harding its largest lead of the game, 44-20, at 18:05 in the second, but the Muleriders weren’t going quietly.
Down 57-37 at 10:51, SAU used a 16-5 run to whittle it to 62-53 over the next five minutes, spurred by sophomore guard Channin Harden’s eight points. But Stephen Barnett’s lay-up pushed it back to double-digits for good as the Bisons rolled on to the 18-point win.
Harding’s 51.9 percent shooting on three-pointers actually bettered its two-point conversion (12 of 26) of 46.2 percent for the game. Other than Blake and Sam Brown, Kevin Brown was 3 of 3 and Trent Morgan hit 1 of 5. Southern Arkansas managed just 3 of 13 (23.1), with junior guard Sanchez Dade connecting on 2 of 4.
The Bisons were 26 of 53 (49.1) total from the floor and hit 13 of 21 (61.9) free throws, while the Muleriders were 20 of 54 (37.0) and 18 of 27 (66.7).
Sam Brown paced Harding with 19 points, Blake added 18, and Kevin Brown finished with 16. Morgan grabbed six rebounds and Barnett served eight assists.
SAU won the battle on the glass, 38-29, but had 19 turnovers that the Bisons converted into 24 points. Harding had 17 turnovers.
Harden led Southern Arkansas with 18 points, and had five rebounds and four steals. Dade added 12 points and six boards, and sophomore forward Justin Stuart chipped in 10 points.
The Muleriders (6-8, 0-2 GSC) return home Saturday, hosting Henderson State in an approximate 7:30 p.m. start following the women’s game.
