GAC MEN
HARDING 75,
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 71
Harding didn’t lead by more than five points in the final five minutes but never gave up the lead as it defeated one of the Great American Conference’s firstplace teams.
Harding (11-8, 9-4) broke a 58-57 lead on a three-point play by Andraz Kavas with 6:47 left, and even though Southern Arkansas (13-6, 9-4) pulled within two points four different times and within one point once, the Bisons held on for a victory at Rhodes Field House in Searcy.
Jacob Gibson and Kavas had 20 points each while Will Francis added 18 for Harding, which won its sixth game in a row.
Alre’k Brown had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Southern Arkansas, which entered Saturday in a three-way tie for first place in the GAC. DJ Frye added 16 points, while Jaron Davis made 3 of 16 three-pointers and finished with 12 for the Muleriders, who lost for the second time in three games.
HENDERSON STATE 95,
ARK.-MONTICELLO 91, OT
Henderson State shot 62.1 percent in the second half to erase an 11-point halftime deficit and force overtime, then made 8 of 10 free throws in the extra period to secure a victory Saturday at Steelman Fieldhouse in Monticello.
Reggie Murphy scored 35 points and had 13 rebounds for the Reddies, who trailed 45-34 at halftime and 58-48 six minutes into the second half.
Henderson got within 70-69 with 6:14 left and took two leads in the final three minutes. After leading 81-80 on a Murphy jumper with 2:06 left, UAM’s Sharif Hudson made 1 of 2 free throws to force overtime.
UAM (5-12, 2-11) was 3 of 10 from the floor in overtime, missing its last seven shots.
Jamal Peterson led the Boll Weevils with 23 points, while Richard Benedyth had 21.
D’Audrio Patton scored 14 and Cameron Blue and Hudson each had 10 for the Boll Weevils.
Kevin Kozan had 15 points for the Reddies (9-10, 6-7), and Micah Walker scored 13.
OUACHITA BAPTIST 71,
ARKANSAS TECH 57
Tirrell Browna and Colt Fason each scored 22 points as Ouachita Baptist stayed among the Great American Conference leaders.
OBU shot 46.4 percent and was 4 of 8 from three-point range in the second half as the Tigers won for the third consecutive time. The Tigers (14-4, 10-3) entered Saturday in a three-way tie for first place in the GAC standings with East Central (Okla.) and Southern Arkansas.
OBU started the game on a 10-1 run, led 25-15 with 5:30 left in the first half and 31-22 at halftime. The Tigers never trailed in the contest.
Justin McCleary made three second-half three-pointers and finished with 13 points for the Tigers.
Clarence Willard scored 16 points, while Darrick Little had 10 for Arkansas Tech (9-12, 5-8), which has lost six of its last seven games.
GAC WOMEN
HARDING 72,
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 61
Montana Lewis and A’ndi Haney each had 18 points to help Harding bounce back from its first conference loss with a victory in Searcy.
Arielle Saunders added 13 points and Correy Moyer had 11 for Harding (16-3, 12-1) which shot 51.0 percent from the floor, made nine three-pointers and forced 19 turnovers.
Rosa Bryant scored 17 points to lead Southern Arkansas (5-14, 3-10), while Cemetra Jenkins added 14.
ARKANSAS TECH 66,
OUACHITA BAPTIST 61
Anissa Pounds scored 23 points and Fatima Adams added 19 points and 13 rebounds as Arkansas Tech held off Ouachita Baptist at Bill Vining Arena in Arkadelphia.
The Golden Suns (16-3, 11-2) led 34-26 at halftime and shot 45.8 percent in the second half.
Katie Kapler led OBU (7-13, 3-10) with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Katherine West had 13 points and Kori Bullard added 11. OBU was held to 37.3 percent shooting.
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 43, HENDERSON STATE 42
Arkansas-Monticello made up for a poor shooting performance from the field by making 12 of 16 free throws in a slim victory at Steelman Fieldhouse in Monticello.
The Cotton Blossoms (10-8, 8-5) were held to 14 of 58 shooting (24.1 percent) and made 3 of 17 three-pointers. Jordan Goforth had 24 points, but no other UAM player had more than seven points.
Dulincia Keener led Henderson State (7-12, 5-8) with 12 points, while Jasmine Settles and Haleigh Henson each scored 11 points.