RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Three teams are tied atop the league standings with a 4-1 conference record after the results of Saturday’s Great American Conference men’s basketball contests. Arkansas-Monticello and Henderson State each recorded wins to remain tied for the top spot in the standings, while Ouachita Baptist had the day off after moving to 4-1 on Thursday.

SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 63, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 56
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southwestern Oklahoma State (10-5, 2-4 GAC) moved into the double-digit win column and was the only GAC team to win on the road on Saturday by defeating Southern Arkansas (10-7, 3-2 GAC) 63-56 inside the W.T. Watson Athletic Center. The first half featured a tight back-and-forth battle featuring eight tie scored and seven lead changes. Neither team led by morethan three points in the opening period before SWOSU put together a 6-1 scoring run in the final two minutes to hold a five-point lead at halftime. The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 12-4 run to take the largest lead of the game at 13 points with a 43-30 advantage at the 16:19 mark of the final period. SAU immediately followed with a 13-0 run to force a 43-all tie at the 9:50 mark. The Muleriders took their first lead and only of the half at the 7:08with a pair of free throws from Chris Davis. The Bulldogs regained the lead for the final time with 5:12 remaining on a layup from Chase Elliott. The Muleriders cut SWOSU’s lead to one point three times during the final five minutes, but were never able to fully catch up. SAU’s Rodney Hill led all scorers with 13 points, while SWOSU’s quartet of double-digit scorers was led by Dominick Cornelius’ 12 points.
SWOSU RECAP // BOX SCORE

HENDERSON STATE 97, ARKANSAS TECH 94
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – There were 13 lead changes on Saturday between Henderson State (9-6, 4-1 GAC) and Arkansas Tech (11-4, 3-2 GAC), but the duration of the leads were the more important factor as the Reddies captured a 97-94 win at home over Arkansas Tech inside the Duke Wells Center. After a back-and-forth battle throughout the first 11 minutes of the contest, the Wonder Boys gained a three-point lead on an old-fashioned three-point play from Jared Williamson and held that lead until the final 51 seconds of the firsthalf, when HSU Denzel Lyles nailed a three-pointer to tie the game at 47-all, a score that held through the remainder of the opening period. The tides flipped in the second half. The two squads exchanged baskets during the first 11 minutes of the second half, before HSU took a lead on an old-fashioned three-point play from Andrew Ensley at the 9:01 mark following the game’s 10th tie score. The Reddies never trailed throughout the final nine minutes, despite the Wonder Boys trimming the HSU lead to one point with 3:31 remaining and two points three times in the final minute. ATU’s desperation heave by Jared Williamson at the buzzer fell just short to give HSU the three-point win.
HSU RECAP // ATU RECAP // BOX SCORE

ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 75, EAST CENTRAL 69
MONTICELLO, Ark. – Arkansas-Monticello (14-3, 4-1 GAC) kept its perfect home-court record intact by moving to 8-0 inside Steelman Field House this season following a 75-69 win over East Central (3-13, 0-6 GAC) on Saturday. After a brief free-throw exchange in the opening minute of the game, UAM took thelead on a basket from Kori Forge at the 18:02 mark and never trailed throughout the remainder of the contest. The Boll Weevils grew their lead to double-digits at the 9:28 mark of the opening period and to 20 points three minutes later. UAM held a 45-24 lead at halftime. The Tigers responded in the second half,cutting UAM’s lead from 20 points to 11 points throughout the first nine minutes of the final period. With just under five minutes remaining, ECU climbed to within single-digits and held the Boll Weevils there throughout the remainder of the contest. UAM’s LA Farmer led all scorers with 22 points, while ECU’s Caprest Rhone led the Tigers with 20 points. Darnell Davis added a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers.
UAM RECAP // ECU RECAP // BOX SCORE

HARDING 73, SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 53
SEARCY, Ark. – Harding (8-7, 3-2 GAC) nearly doubled Southeastern Oklahoma State (5-13, 1-5 GAC) in second half scoring, leading to a 73-53 win at home for the Bisons over the Savage Storm on Saturday at Rhodes Fieldhouse. After trailing by double-digits throughout much of the first half, the Savage Storm rallied for a 13-3 scoring run in the final three minutes of the period to cut the Bison lead to two points at halftime at 29-27. It was all Harding in the second half. The Bisons made nearly 61 percent of their shots from the field in the final period and outscored Southeastern 44-26 to capture the win. HU’s final lead was the largest lead for the Bisons in the game. Each team had three players reach double-digits in scoring. Harding was led by Kirk Porter’s game-high 16 points off the bench, while Chris Russell led Southeastern with a final total of 13 points.
HU RECAP // SOSU RECAP // BOX SCORE