SEARCY, Ark. – SWOSU Men's Basketball shot 30% from the field as a team and 20% from the three-point line, both season lows, in a 60-56 road loss to Harding on Thursday night.
 
Despite the cold shooting and never leading in the second half after trailing by as many as 13, SWOSU found a way to have a chance at overtime after getting fouled on a three-point shot with 1.4 seconds left in regulation. The Dawgs trailed 58-55 at the time but missed 2-of-3 at the line.
 
The uphill battle originally began minutes before halftime after the Bisons closed the first half on an 8-0 run. Tied 23-23 with 2:10 remaining before the break, Harding's spurt put them up 31-23 heading to the locker room.
 
The Dawg's deficit immediately grew to 13 points after back-to-back baskets from Harding out of halftime made the score 36-23. From there – the visitors in blue clawed back slowly but surely.
 
An 11-2 run from there had SWOSU back within two possessions but Harding was able to extend the margin back to double figures.
 
Then, trailing 52-41 with 8:45 to play, the Dawgs made one final run at the Bisons that fell just short.
 
Ben Smith led the team with 17 points and seven rebounds. Jacore Williams had 15 more for his third straight game in double figures. Mark Berry had his third straight double-double with 10 points and a career best 15 rebounds.
 
SWOSU shot 32% in the first half and 28.5% in the second. Harding finished the game at 41% overall and 6-of-20 from deep. Both teams shot less than 60% from the foul line and missed double digit attempts.
 
The Bulldogs outrebounded Harding 48-36 thanks to 16 offensive rebounds that correlated to 16 second chance points. SWOSU also turned 11 Bison turnovers into 18 points to help.
 
Following the loss, SWOSU drops to 5-4 in league play and will have a tall test Saturday when they face off against league leading Arkansas Tech at 3:00 pm in Russellville. The Wonder Boys have however, dropped two straight games after starting 7-0 in conference.