MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas men's basketball team kicked off a week-long, three-game home stand on Monday night as they welcomed in Harding University, but the trio of games inside the W.T. Watson Center this week did not get off to a winning start as SAU fell to Harding by a score of 82-67.
 
In the first half, action was close between the Muleriders (9-8, 6-5 GAC) and the Bisons (10-6, 9-3 GAC) as the score was tied four times and the lead changed hands on nine separate occasions. The final of those lead changes came in the waning seconds of the first half and gave the Bisons a two-point lead at the break, 35-33, as Reggie Anthony hit a three-pointer in the far corner.
 
Coming out of the break, SAU got the first possession and quickly scored the tying basket as Alvin Braddock made good on a layup. Seconds later, however, Harding regained the lead on a layup by Anthony. Over the next near three minutes of the game, the Bisons would score eight straight points to swell their lead out to double digits, 45-35, with 16:38 left in the game.
 
From there, the Muleriders would be able to pull to as close as six points with about 15 minutes left on the clock, but the Bisons would eventually grow their lead back out double digits and thanks to 10-of-11 free throw shooting down the stretch, the Bisons would secure a 15-point win.
 
Two Muleriders would score in double figures on Monday with Alvin Braddock coming off the bench and scoring a team-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The other Mulerider in double figures was CJ Elkins with 13 points. Eight of the other nine players who logged minutes would also score in the game.
 
Overall as a team, the Muleriders would shot 42% from the floor (27-of-65), but were just 2-of-19 from long range (11%). On the other end of the court, the Bisons shot 45% overall from the floor (26-of-58) which included a 35% success rate from beyond the three-point line (8-of-23). Additionally, the Bisons would find 22 more points from the charity stripe as they were 22-of-26 (85%) from the free throw line.
 
The Muleriders will now shift their focus to Thursday night as they are set to play host to East Central. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center.