The men and women’s basketball teams traveled to Shawnee, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Feb. 6, each looking for a season sweep of Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU). The Bisons and Lady Bisons had each posted victories over OBU earlier this season, 79-65 and 81-70, respectively.
After having its five-game winning streak snapped two days earlier against Southern Nazarene University (SNU), the men’s team looked to rebound against OBU, but was outplayed in the second half in an 86-78 loss.
According to junior guard Will Francis, who scored 21 points in the game, the Bisons missed shots early and lacked defensive intensity throughout the game.
“What it boiled down to was (the fact that) they wanted it more than we did,” Francis said. “I mean, that was their first win all semester, so they were hungry for a win.”
The Bisons trailed by four points at the break, but OBU shot 54 percent from the field in the second half. This marked the second straight game that Harding has allowed an opponent to shoot over 50 percent in the second half, as SNU shot 70 percent from the field in the second half.
“Sometimes our best offense is when we can get a rebound and get out quick and get easy looks in transition,” Francis said. “When the teams you’re playing are making shots, it becomes harder to get the easy ones, so where it all starts with us is playing hard on the defensive end.”
The Bisons committed 27 fouls in the game, the most the team has been whistled for since its season-opening loss against Minnesota State University-Moorhead. In contrast, OBU was called for 19 fouls.
“We probably worried too much about the officiating there for a little bit in the second half,” Francis said. “But you can’t let that affect your composure—you just have to play through it. (We) credit them, they did a good job attacking us inside and that’s where they got a lot of the foul calls.”
The Bisons remain in a tie for second place in the Great American Conference (GAC) standings with a record of 11-4.
The women’s team had a more successful road trip, securing a 66-60 win over OBU after defeating SNU 82-60 earlier in the week. Five Lady Bisons scored in double digits in the victory, which kept Harding in 2nd place in the GAC standings.
According to sophomore forward Sydney Layrock, tough defensive play has kept the team in games as it has battled the injuries of junior forward Corrie Moyer and freshman center Sydnie Jones.
“One thing coach Kirby told us was that we since we don’t have a big inside presence we have to focus on our defense,” Layrock said. “We’ve worked on it hard in practice so we’ll be prepared for teams who really like to attack the paint, and our defense is what’s been holding us together so far.”
The Lady Bisons recorded seven steals and held OBU to 30 percent shooting in the win.
Both teams will play Ouachita Baptist University on Saturday, Feb. 13, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The Lady Bisons will tip off at 1 p.m., and the Bisons will follow at 3 p.m.
