Box Score ARKADELPHIA, Ark.- The No. 10 Ouachita Tigers (6-1, 4-1 GAC) hosted No. 25 Harding (6-1, 4-1 GAC) on Saturday for a Top-25 match-up in Arkadelphia. The Tigers were doomed by turnovers and penalty yards, finishing the game with a minus three turnover margin and 11 penalties for 102 yards, many of which came in vital situations. The final score of the game stood at 34-14, in favor of the Bisons.
 
Harding kicked off the game with a statement drive, marching 70 yards down the field on 13 plays and scoring, when Ahmad Scott found his way into the end zone on a four yard run. With the touchdown, the Bisons took an early 7-0 lead, with 8:06 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The Tigers did much of the same on their first drive of the game, but weren't able to come up with any points. They drove 55 yards on 11 plays, but a 26 yard field goal attempt from Jason Fowler strayed wide right and the Bisons took possession at their own 20.
 
The Bisons were again able to drive the field, putting up a field goal at the end of a six play, 63 yard drive. Harding's kicker, John Gay, converted on a 36 yard attempt, stretching the Bisons lead to 10-0 with 14:16 left in the first half.
 
Ouachita finally got on the board with 56 seconds remaining in the first half, when quarterback Benson Jordan connected with receiver Brett Reece for a 26 yard touchdown, cutting the Harding lead to 10-7.
 
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Bisons only took 54 seconds to get on the board again, when Donatella Luckett grabbed a pass from Kelvin Martin and sprinted 37 yards into the end zone, giving Harding a 17-7 lead heading into halftime.
 
The early goings of the third quarter were pretty uneventful, with a couple of defensive stops being registered. The first score of the second half came at the 4:03 mark of the quarter though, when Gay snuck a 27 yard field goal attempt between the posts and gave the Bisons a 20-7 lead.
 
The next score of the game didn't come until the 9:50 mark of the fourth quarter, when the Bisons Tre' Clark capped off an 11 play, 77 yard drive with a six yard rushing touchdown, stretching the Bisons lead to 27-7. They weren't done yet though, as just 37 seconds later, they came up with the only defensive score of the day.
 
Harding's defense scored on a 56 yard interception return by Tramaine Wilkes, giving the Bisons a comfortable 34-7 lead with a little over nine minutes remaining in the game.
 
A lot of back and forth action would take place, but the Tigers were unable to score until there it was too little, too late, as quarterback Ty Towers connected on a five yard touchdown pass to Drew White, making the score 34-14, which would end up as the final.

The Tigers held Harding to 304 yards in the game, while picking up 303 yards of their own, but they weren't able to take advantage of a number of scoring opportunities. Harding racked up 278 of their yards on the ground, due to their option offense, while holding Ouachita to only 39 yards on the ground, just a week after Ouachita ran roughshod over the Boll Weevils of Arkansas-Monticello with their ground game.
 
Benson Jordan and Ty Towers split time at quarterback, with Jordan picking up 137 yards and a touchdown through the air while completing 11 of his 23 attempts, and Towers picking up 127 yards and a touchdown through the air on a 12 of 21 performance. Both quarterbacks threw an interception in the contest.

Ouachita's Brett Reece led the team in receiving, catching seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, with a long of 26 yards. Drew White did his share of work through the air as well, picking up six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, the Tigers were led by Ricky Brown, who picked up 10 tackles and a sack in the game. Two of his tackles were for a loss. Fellow linebackers Jackson Guerra and Antwion Patterson picked up nine tackles, while Patterson added a forced fumble.

Ouachita hits the road next Saturday for a match-up against the Tigers of East Central University. The last meeting between the two teams ended in a victory for Ouachita by a score of 31-18. This year's game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff in Ada, Oklahoma.
 
-Josh Fink, Sports Information Director