GREAT AMERICAN CONFERENCE BASKETBALL ROUNDUPS

— MEN ARKANSAS TECH 52, OUACHITA BAPTIST 50

Paul Cooper finished with 11 points and four rebounds, Tyler Friedel had 11 points and Jared Williamson added 10 as Arkansas Tech (13-8, 10-5 Great American Conference) came back to beat Ouachita Baptist (12-9, 8-7) on Thursday night at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.

Ouachita Baptist shot 10 of 26 (38.5 percent) from the floor in the first half and led 26-23 at halftime.

Micah Delph hit a three-pointer to give the Tigers a 42-39 lead with 8:04 remaining.

Cooper’s dunk put the Wonder Boys on top 47-45 with 2:24 remaining, and Arkansas Tech never relinquished the lead. Williamson’s three-pointer with two seconds on the shot clock extended the lead to 50-45.

The Wonder Boys finished 15 of 47 (31.9 percent) from the floor. Ouachita Baptist shot 37.5 percent (18 of 48).

HENDERSON STATE 70, HARDING 68

Melvin Hayes scored 20 points, including four three-pointers, to lead Henderson State (11-10, 6-9) to a road victory over Harding (17-6, 10-5) at Rhodes Field House in Searcy.

Andrew Ensley added 14 points for the Reddies, who shot 43.4 percent (23 of 53) from the floor.

Harding led 63-62 with 2:49 remaining before Haynes hit a three-pointer six seconds later to give the Reddies a 65-63 lead.

Ensley’s two free throws pushed the lead to 67-63, but Tony Cochran’s three pointer pulled Harding within 67-66 with 1:49 remaining.

The Reddies made three of four free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Hayden Johnson led Harding with 18 points. Zach Roddenberry had 17 points.

SOUTHERN NAZARENE 63, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 57

Quan Conner had a career-high 28 points, including seven three-pointers, and Southern Nazarene (13-9, 8-8) beat Southern Arkansas (9-13, 5-11) at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla.

The Muleriders, who shot 42.3 percent (22 of 52) from the field, never led.

Southern Nazarene led 24-20 at halftime and went on a 9-2 run to open the second half to extend its lead to 33-22. The Muleriders cut the lead to 45-44, but Antwone Jackson’s three-pointer pushed the Crimson Storm’s advantage to 48-44.

Darrin Johnson led Southern Arkansas with 19 points. Jamail Turner added 13 points.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Arkansas Tech 52, Ouachita Baptist 50 Henderson State 70, Harding 68 S. Nazarene 63, S. Arkansas 57 East Central (Okla.) 72, SW Okla. St. 61 NW Okla. St. 73, SE Oklahoma State 71 SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central

Ark. Tech at Henderson State, 4 p.m.

Harding at Ouachita Baptist, 4 p.m.

Ark.-Mont. at S. Nazarene, 4 p.m.

NW Okla. St. at E. Cent. (Okla.), 4 p.m.

SW Okla. St. at SE Okla. St., 7:30 p.m.

WOMEN ARKANSAS TECH 74, OUACHITA BAPTIST 55

Senior Roselis Silva finished with 18 points and nine steals, while junior Tikeyiah Johnson broke a career-high with 15 points while grabbing six rebounds, leading Arkansas Tech (15-6, 12-3 Great American Conference) to a victory over Ouachita Baptist (15-6, 10-5) on Thursday night at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.

Silva had a layup at the 14:13 mark to give Arkansas Tech a 6-4 lead, and the Golden Suns would never trail again. The Lady Tigers cut the margin to two points three different times in the half, but the Golden Suns led 27-23 lead at halftime.

Senior Jessica Weatherford got the Arkansas Tech offense going in the second half with a layup and Silva hit a three-pointer to push the lead to 32-23 with 19:03 remaining. The Golden Suns went on a 7-0 run in the second half until OBU’s Erica Sharp made a layup with 17:52 remaining.

Arkansas Tech shot 44.8 percent from the field, while holding the Lady Tigers to 2 of 27 from three-point range. The Golden Suns also out rebounded OBU 52-35, including a 30-14 advantage in the second half.

HARDING 76, HENDERSON STATE 69, OT

Kristen Celsor had 23 points and eight rebounds as Harding (14-7, 10-5) held off Henderson State (10-11, 5-10) in overtime at Rhodes Field House in Searcy.

Deshelle Isaac-Boyce added 16 points for Harding.

Harding used a 9-0 run in the final 1:13 of overtime to seal the victory. Henderson State went without a field goal in overtime and made 5 of 10 free throws.

Henderson State led most of the second half until Celsor made two free throws with two seconds remaining to send the game to overtime tied at 64-64.

Harding shot 40.3 percent (29 of 72) from the floor while Henderson State went 23 of 58 (39.7) The Lady Reddies committed 21 turnovers.

Krystal Beachum led the Lady Reddies with 18 points and six rebounds.

SOUTHERN NAZARENE 95, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 80

Southern Arkansas led 39-38 at halftime, but Southern Nazarene outscored the Muleriders 57-41 in the second half at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla.

Oumoul Thiam led Southern Nazarene (13-9, 10-6) with 28 points.

Katherine McBride scored a game high 30 points to lead Southern Arkansas (0-21, 0-16).

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Arkansas Tech 74, Ouachita Baptist 55 Harding 76, Henderson State 69, OT S. Nazarene 95, S. Arkansas 80 SW Okla. St. 72, East Central (Okla.) 68 SE Okla. St. 76, NW Oklahoma State 64

SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central

Ark. Tech at Henderson State, 2 p.m.

Harding at Ouachita Baptist, 2 p.m.

Ark.-Mont. at S. Nazarene, 2 p.m.

NW Okla. St. at E. Cent. (Okla.), 2 p.m.

SW Okla. St. at SE Okla. St., 5:30 p.m.

Sports, Pages 25 on 02/15/2013

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