BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Harding’s Jacob Gibson, the Great American Conference’s Player of the Year set the league’s single-game scoring record and led the Bisons to a 97-83 win against Southern Arkansas in Saturday’s second GAC Men’s Basketball Championship semifinal from the Bruin Fieldhouse.
Gibson became the first men’s player in the five-year history of the GAC to reach the 40-point plateau as he connected on 12-of-20 shots, including 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line, and went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Rod Camphor held the GAC Championship scoring record of 36 points in a 2013 quarterfinal against Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Nazarene’s C.J. Smith owned the overall high from when he tallied 39 against Henderson State on February 6, 2014.
Gibson scored 22 of the Bisons’ first 30 points, en route to scoring 27 in the first half. The Bisons (20-9), who never trailed, led 50-34 at the break. In the second half, Reggie Anthony picked up the scoring as he netted 17 of his 18 points in the second half on 6-of-7 shooting. Will Francis matched Anthony with 18 points. He went 12-of-13 from the free-throw line and the Bisons went 32-of-39 as a team.
Deon Andrews led Muleriders (17-13) in double figures with 17 points. Jaron Davis added 16 while GAC Freshman of the Year CJ Elkins contributed 12 points and three assists.
Harding will face Ouachita in Sunday’s title game with the GAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The Bisons dropped both regular-season contests, a pair of four-point games. Ouachita won 62-58 on January 16, in Searcy, and followed up with a 79-75 home win on February 13. For the first time in GAC history, ESPN3 will carry the broadcast.