Box Score (html)
SEARCY, Ark. – Rhoads-Reaves Fieldhouse has always been a tough place for the SWOSU Bulldog Basketball team to play and Saturday was no exception as Harding shot 48% from the field and hit 15 three-pointers to hand the Bulldogs a 84-59 defeat.
Harding blitzed SWOSU from the outset with a 15-2 run to open the game and their lead expanded to 32-10 with 7:31 to play in the opening half before the Bulldogs got a few shots to fall. SWOSU shot 33% from the field in the opening half, but Harding hit 9-of-17 three-pointers and took a 45-32 lead to the intermission.
SWOSU scored the first four points of the second half to get the lead down to nine at 49-36, but Harding responded with an 8-0 run and never looked back, leading by as many as 25 in the final minute for the final count of 84-59.
Martell Collins scored a team-high 17 points for the Bulldogs, snapping his five-game streak of scoring better than 20 points.
Markeise Champion added 15 points for SWOSU, but no other player had more than six points.
Ayo Ojo scored six points and grabbed a team-leading 10 rebounds in the defeat.
"Harding is always a difficult place to play because they are a very talented team," SWOSU Head Coach
Bob Battisti said. "The difference today was they made shots at a higher rate than we did and they took it to us from the very beginning. We can't get discouraged, now we have to get ready back at home on Thursday night."
SWOSU (11-8, 7-6 GAC) is back in action at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Thursday night, facing Arkansas-Monticello with tipoff slated for 7:30 pm.
