Written by Tiffany Jones
In its third appearance in the NCAA basketball tournament, the Bison basketball team fell 87-86 in overtime to Alabama’s Stillman University.
The final point was scored with a little over three seconds left in the game after senior forward Kevin Brown had brought the score to 86-85 with a three-point play.
This heartbreaking defeat came on the heels of an outstanding season for the men’s basketball team. The Bisons ended their season championshipoftheGulf South Conference tournament 25-5 overall and 12-2 in conference play.
“Getting to the NCAA tournament, even getting to our [GSC] tournament, is a big deal because they only take four teams,” the head men’s basketball coach Jeff Morgan said. “And to go ahead and finish that off by winning the conference championship and getting the automatic qualifier bid, that’s a great experience and it’s really special for this team and this group of guys.”
The Bisons took the GSC tournament by storm, outscoring the other teams including tournament favorite University of Alabama-Huntsville by a large margin. The GSC tournament championship game was between Harding and Arkansas Tech, the only team the Bisons had lost to in conference play. In their previous tournament appearance, the Bisons were in a similar predicament.
“We had been in that same situation before in 2008 where we played Christian Brothers in the finals for a third time. Some of these guys had been in that position before,” Morgan said. “I think with the way we played against Tech the last time, even though they beat us, I think our guys could really sense that we had them on the ropes in that game. I think they took a lot of confidence from that game.”
Senior guard Stephen Blake was awarded Most Outstanding Player for the tournament, making the All Tournament Team along with senior team members Sam Brown and Kevin Brown, all three scoring in the double digits that game.
Kevin Brown was also named to the NABC All South Region 2nd Team.
Blake was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All South Region Team, first team. He attributes the victory not to his efforts, but to the team’s ability and willingness to play.
“I was really proud of not just winning it, but the way we won it,” Blake said. “We had a complete team effort, and to do it that way, as opposed to depending on one or two guys, was a lot of fun. We had guys coming off the bench ready to go.”
It was the final game for seniors Blake, Sam Brown, Kevin Brown and Matt Ragsdale.The Harding men’s basketball team finished with 25-5, its best record ever, according to Harding’s Sports Information Director Scott Goode.
The team also finished season ranked 11th in Division II, the first time it has ever made it to the final NCAA poll.
