eam Saturday and a win over the No. 2-ranked team in Division II on Monday all came before Harding’s men’s basketball team even played its home opener.
The Bisons defeated NCAA Division I opponent University of Louisiana Monroe on Nov. 26, winning by just two points. Junior DeAntra Scott scored a game-high 24 points, leading the team to Harding’s first-ever win in the regular season against a Division I opponent since joining the NCAA in 1997.
The team was coming off an 11-day layoff, but according to Scott it actually benefited the team.
“[The layoff] actually made it easier because we were anticipating for the day we played against someone else besides each other during practice,” Scott said.
Shooting 56 percent in the first half, the Bisons led by 16 points at halftime.
“We were playing really well together so it didn’t really surprise me all that much, but 19 is a large number difference when playing a D-I team,” junior Zach Roddenberry said. “I’ll take it.”
The ULM Warhawks made eight of their 11 3-pointers in the second half of the game and trimmed Harding’s lead to below 10. Within the game’s final 40 seconds, a pair of ULM 3-pointers closed the point gap, but Harding sealed the deal after sophomore Weston Jameson made 1-of-2 free throws while ULM missed a game-tying buzzer shot.
The winning continued at Alabama-Huntsville on Nov. 28, making it Harding’s third straight victory over nationally-ranked teams. Jameson led Harding to a 65-63 victory after making six 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 20 points.
Junior Bradley Spencer also played a vital role in the team’s win. With less than a minute remaining in the game, Spencer made five free throws that placed Harding in the lead.
“I don’t know of too many more people I would rather have in that situation than him,” Roddenberry said. “I wasn’t nervous at all. I knew he had them.”
Apart from technical skills, both Scott and Roddenberry attribute the team’s success to their close bonds.
“This team meshes so well together because we are so comfortable together,” Roddenberry said. “Many of us have been playing together for two to three years, so we know how each other works, we can push each other because of that close knit family-like bond.”
To add to this year’s success, Scott received his first-career Great American Conference Player of the Week. With the rest of the season remaining, the team has high expectations.
“We won the GSC last year and we want the GAC this year,” Roddenberry said. “Once you have a taste of the best, it’s hard to settle for second.”
