The Bisons (21-9) shot 50.0 percent from the floor and limited the Tigers (22-8) to just 23.3 percent overall and 12.5 percent from the 3-point arc as they built a 20-point halftime advantage. Rylie Marshall made four 3-pointers, including the one that put the Bisons ahead 41-21. Sam Smith added 10 points.
Smith opened the second half by scoring 10 of the Bisons first 15 points. Up 60-41, Wyatt Gilbert went on a personal 9-0 run that extended Harding’s advantage to 28 points. Smith and Gilbert scored 31 of the Bisons’ 42 second-half points on 12-of-15 shooting.
Harding’s torrid shooting continued into the second half by going 17-for-27. The Bisons finished shooting 56.4 percent. Ouachita shot just 32.3 percent. Smith matched his Harding career high with 26 points on 13-for-21 shooting. Gilbert finished 4-for-6 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and totaled 15 points. Stetson Smithson hit 4-of-5 shots to finish with 14 points. He added seven rebounds.
Reggie Martin led the Tigers with a game-high 28 points. He grabbed eight rebounds. GAC Player of the Year Hobert Grayson added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Harding will face top-seeded Southern Nazarene at 3:30 p.m. in the GAC final. The Bisons and Crimson Storm split their two regular-season
meetings. The Bisons won 75-55 on January 9 in Searcy. Southern Nazarene registered an 86-83 win in Bethany on February 8.
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