ARKADELPHIA- With a strong home crowd in its favor, Ouachita stormed to a 42-33 advantage in the opening half against No. 20 Harding. It would be the Bisons, however, who peaked just at the right time, defeating the Tigers 89-82 at Bill Vining Arena on Thursday.
The Tigers (7-13, 2-6 GSC West) jumped out to a 42-33 lead at half, including a 44-foot final second three-pointer from sophomore Austin Mitchell at the final halftime buzzer. Mitchell entered the contest in the top-15 in the country in three-pointers per game (3.3).
At the end of the first half, fans were lively and rightfully so, as Ouachita went from being tied at 31-31 at the 2:51 mark, to going on a 11-2 run to close the half. Freshman David Day led the charge with five points on the run, coupled with a three-pointer from freshman Eric Braeuer at 1:26. But the fireworks eventually came with no time on the clock, as Mitchell nailed the shot that sent Ouachita into the locker room with a nine point lead.
For the season, the Bisons (17-3, 7-1 GSC West) remain in the GSC West title hunt, one game behind No. 15 Arkansas Tech (7-0).
Senior Jeremy Banks led the Tigers with 19 points and five rebounds, while senior Scott Day and sophomore Nigel Ramsey added 15 points each. Ramsey totaled five rebounds and four assists, while Day chipped in three assists and two rebounds. As a team, Ouachita shot 47 percent on 25-of-53 shooting, including 11-of-27 on three-pointers for 40 percent.
Harding’s Stephen Blake recorded a season-high 31 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including a 11-of-12 night from the free-throw line. Teammate Kevin Brown added 19 and the Bisons shot 55 percent from the field.
The Tigers return to Bill Vining Arena on Feb. 10 to take on Delta State beginning at 8 p.m.
