BOX SCORE
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – After facing two grueling regular-season meetings with Southern Arkansas that both required overtime, top-seeded Harding jumped out to an early advantage and cruised to a 62-43 victory in the Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinals from Bruin Fieldhouse.
Harding (21-8) used an early 20-0 run to grab a 21-5 lead midway through the first half. The opening 20 minutes concluded with the Bisons holding a 32-13 led. They allowed Southern Arkansas (10-17) to shoot just 4-for-25 from the floor and the 13 points represented the fewest points Harding allowed to an opponent in the first half of a game this season.
Harding-Southern Arkansas Photo Gallery
Three Harding starters reached double figures, led by Honorable Mention All-GAC forward Hayden Johnson’s 16 points. GAC Freshman of the Year Tony Cochran added 14 and First-Team All-GAC forward Zach Roddenberry added 12. Roddenberry connected on 5-of-6 from the floor and actually lowered her all-time field-goal percentage in GAC Championship play. In last year’s quarterfinal round, he shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the field in a loss to Arkansas-Monticello.
Chris Davis scored 11 points and finished as the lone Mulerider in double figures. For the game, Southern Arkansas shot just 23.6 percent from the field, the lowest by a Harding opponent this season.
The Bisons advanced to Saturday’s semifinals where they will face the winner of the Southeastern Oklahoma State and Ouachita Baptist game at 8:30 p.m. Harding split with both teams during the regular season, winning its home contests. Harding averaged 88.5 points in those wins; however, in the road defeats, the Bisons scored just 58.0 points per game.