FORT SMITH, Arkansas – For the second-straight year, Harding claimed the Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championship title as the Bisons fended off a Southern Nazarene rally to claim a 73-68 victory on Sunday from Northside Grizzly Arena.
The Bisons (24-7) joined the 2017-18 and 2018-19 Crimson Storm as the only two GAC men’s teams to win back-to-back tournament titles. Like a season ago, Keyln McBride garnered Tournament MVP honors. He scored a game-high 26 points. He added seven assists. For the week, he averaged 22.0 points and 4.7 assists. He made 13 3-pointers across the three games.
Harding opened the contest by scoring 13 of the game’s first 17 points. The Bisons never trailed. The Bisons shot 66.7 percent from the floor, 16-of-24, and made 6-of-12 3-point tries to lead by eight. They scored the first 10 points of the second half, punctuated by a highlight-worthy alley-oop pass from McBride to Wesley Booker.
The Bisons’ advantage never dropped below nine until the Crimson Storm (23-8) embarked on a 14-0 run to draw to within three, 66-63. McBride came up with the Bisons’ final three field goals, including one with 17.4 seconds left to clinch the title.
Booker and GAC Freshman of the Year Reggie Webster joined McBride on the All-Tournament Team. Booker totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds. Webster went 7-for-13, 4-for-7 on 3-point tries, en route to scoring 21 points.
Tracy Godfrey, Jr., Baron Bracey and Joe Mpoyo represented the Crimson Storm on the All-Tournament team. Godfrey, Jr. scored 15 points on Sunday. Bracey added 12. Mpoyo went 10-of-20 from the 3-point arc in their three games.
Oklahoma Baptist’s Terry Coner, Jr. and Ouachita Baptist’s Devon Hancock, the league’s Player and Newcomer of the Year, added All-Tournament honors to their season-long accolades.
The Bisons earned the program’s eighth berth to the NCAA Tournament. Harding will learn its opponent and destination during Sunday night’s NCAA Selection show. It streams on NCAA.com at 10 p.m. Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma Baptist and Ouachita Baptist all entered the week ranked in the top 10 of the Central Region and seek at-large bids.