NCAA DIVISION II ROUNDUPS

— GAC MEN HARDING 72, ARKANSAS TECH 64

SEARCY - Four Bisons scored 11 or more points, led by Bradley Spencer’s 15 points, as Harding held off the Wonder Boys.

Harding (15-3, 8-2 Great American Conference) led by 12 points late in the second half when the Wonder Boys cut the lead to 62-60 with 1:45 to play. But that was as close as the Wonder Boys got.

Hayden Johnson scored 13, Anderz Kavas 12 and Zach Roddenberry 11 for Harding.

Arkansas Tech’s Willie Kirkland led all scorers with 18 points, Bobby Hatchett scored 9, and Charles Mells grabbed 7 rebounds for the Wonder Boys (9-7, 6-4 GAC).

A layup from Roddenberry gave Harding its largest lead, 57-45, with 5:23 to play.

Kendell Pinkney hit a three-pointer, and Tech outscored Harding 9-0 to make it 62-60 with 1:45 to play.

OUACHITA BAPTIST 61, HENDERSON STATE 59

ARKADELPHIA - Michael Morris made two free throws in the final minuter, and the Tigers’ survived a last second layup attempt to hold off the Reddies.

The score was tied 59-59 when Morris made 1 of 2 free throws with 59 seconds to play.

Mforris returned to the line after an offensive rebound and a timeout, once again making 1 of 2 free throws with 34 seconds to play.

OBU’s Austin Mitchell missed two free throws giving Henderson one last chance to tie the game, but Joe McCoy left his layup short, allowing OBU (9-7, 5-5 GAC) to escape with a victory over Henderson (9-7, 4-6).

Colt Fason led OBU with 20 points. Morris had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Denzel Lyles led Henderson State with 19 points.

ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 72, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 59

MONTICELLO - Senior guard Kori Forge scored 29 points, senior forward A.J. Calhoun added 14 points and 11 rebounds while junior forward Dayton Mickens posted 10 points and 5 rebounds to lead the Boll Weevils at Steelman Field House.

The Boll Weevils (10-6, 5-5 GAC) made 20 of 24 free throws and out rebounded the Muleriders (6-10, 2-8 GAC) 38-30.

GAC WOMEN ARK.-MONTICELLO 78, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 65

MONTICELLO - Arkansas-Monticello closed out the first half of the Great American Conference schedule by picking up its first conference victory in defeating Southern Arkansas on Thursday at Steelman Field House.

Catherine Puckett scored 15 points to lead the Cotton Blossoms (3-12, 1-9), while Jordan Goforth scored 12 and Donlica James added 11. The Cotton Blossoms shot 41.9 percent (26 of 62) from the floor and 75.7 percent (28 of 37) from the free-throw line.

Katherine McBride scored a game-high 20 points for Southern Arkansas (0-15, 0-10). Stevi Cooper had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Muleriders, and Tori Nichols added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Southern Arkansas shot 38.7 percent (24 of 62) from the floor and 64.5 percent (20 of 31) from the free-throw line.

OUACHITA BAPTIST 65, HENDERSON STATE 57

ARKADELPHIA - Turnovers and poor shooting plagued both teams, but Ouachita Baptist was able to build a nine-point halftime lead and earned a victory at Bill Vining Arena.

The Lady Tigers (13-3, 8-2) had 17 turnovers and shot 39.3 percent (22 of 56) from the floor, but they forced 21 turnovers by Henderson State (9-7, 4-6) and held the Lady Reddies to 34.6 percent (18 of 52) shooting from the floor.

Nashia James led Ouachita Baptist with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Kendra Coyle added 13 points and five rebounds. Shareka Maner led Henderson State with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Krystal Beachum added 13 points.

ARKANSAS TECH 50, HARDING 43

SEARCY - Rosie Silva scored 14points and added nine rebounds, Jessica Weatherford scored nine points and Tikeyiah Johnson scored eight as Arkansas Tech (11-5, 8-2) held off Harding (11-5, 7-3).

The Golden Suns held Harding to no field goals in the game’s opening 8:48. During that time, the Golden Suns took a 13-3 lead. Westin Taylor hit a three pointer with 1:12 to go in the first half to extend Arkansas Tech’s lead to 25-13, which they would hold going into halftime.

The Lady Bisons were held to just 11.5 percent shooting (3 of 26) in the first half, while committing eight turnovers. Jasmine Poole led Arkansas Tech with six points. The Golden Suns shot 30.8 percent (8 of 26) in the first half.

Arkansas Tech increased the lead to 28-15 in the first minute of the second half. Caitlyn Spurgeon made a layup with 15:37 to play and drew a foul to make it 34-19. The Golden Suns opened up their largest lead (41-22) at the 12:37 mark on a three-pointer by Silva.

Harding went on a 9-0 run and cut the Arkansas Tech lead to 43-36 with 3:47 remaining. But Silva hit six free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Arkansas Tech out rebounded Harding 50-43, including an 18-10 edge on offensive rebounds.

“We ran bad offense in the second half for a while but were able to learn from it and get back in the game,” Arkansas Tech Coach Dave Wilbers said.

GAC men

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Harding 72, Arkansas Tech 64 Ouachita Baptist 61, Henderson State 59 Ark.-Monticello 72, Southern Arkansas 59 East Central (Okla.) 68, SE Oklahoma State 67 Southern Nazarene 67, SW Oklahoma State 63

SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central

SE Oklahoma State at Arkansas Tech, 4 p.m.

East Central (Okla.) at Harding, 4 p.m.

Ark.-Monticello at Henderson State, 4 p.m.

Southern Arkansas at Ouachita Baptist, 4 p.m.

SW Oklahoma State at NW Oklahoma State, 4 p.m.

GAC women

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Arkansas Tech 50, Harding 43 Ouachita Baptist 65, Henderson State 57 Ark.-Monticello 78, Southern Arkansas 67 East Central (Okla.) 98, SE Oklahoma State 85 SW Oklahoma State 86, Southern Nazarene 74

SATURDAY’S GAMES All times Central

SE Oklahoma State at Arkansas Tech, 2 p.m.

East Central (Okla.) at Harding, 2 p.m.

Ark.-Monticello at Henderson State, 2 p.m.

Southern Arkansas at Ouachita Baptist, 2 p.m.

SW Oklahoma State at NW Oklahoma State, 2 p.m.

Sports, Pages 21 on 01/25/2013

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