ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Ouachita men's basketball completed the season-sweep over the Harding Bisons with a 79-75 win on Saturday, to stay tied for first in the Great American Conference. David Berete scored a season-high 21 points in the win and also grabbed 11 rebounds to earn his first career double-double.
 
Harding (13-9, 12-5 GAC) opened the contest with three straight three-pointers by Jacob Gibson, and the Bisons held a 17-9 lead with just over 15 minutes to play in the first half. Ouachita (13-10, 13-4 GAC) eventually took the lead, however, on a 12-0 run that featured seven points from Berete.
 
After a Harding basket, the Tigers immediately began another run, outscoring the Bisons 10-0 over the next three minutes. The run gave Ouachita a 40-25 lead, and the Tigers held a double-digit lead for the final 6:31 of the first period.
 
With 1:20 to play until halftime, Berete scored on a fast break to give Ouachita an 18-point lead, its largest of the contest. Berete then netted the final basket of the half, putting the Tigers ahead 51-36. The Tigers outscored Harding 33-14 over the final 11 minutes until the halftime break.
 
Berete led Ouachita with 13 first-half points on 4-7 shooting from the floor. He also grabbed a game-high six rebounds. Ouachita netted 51.4 percent of its shots from the floor in the half, including 6-12 from three-point range. The Bisons were held to just 42.9 percent from the floor, and 11 first-half turnovers from Harding led to 18 points for the Tigers.
 
Tirrell Brown scored on Ouachita's first possession of the second half, but an 8-0 run by the Bisons cut the deficit to single digits. Later in the half, Harding pulled within one point on a 10-2 run, but two free-throws from Berete gave Ouachita a 61-58 lead with 8:27 to play.
 
After a Harding turnover, Jordan Corbitt put Ouachita ahead by five with a layup on a fast break, and the Tigers maintained a lead of at least five points until a last-second layup brought the score to 79-74 in favor of the Tigers.
 
Berete and Justin McCleary led the Tigers with eight points each in the second half, and Berete once again led all players with five rebounds.
 
Harding's Jacob Gibson scored a game-high 34 points on 11-16 shooting from the floor. Behind Berete's double-double, Ouachita was led by Justin McCleary's 15 points and five assists. Corbitt added 11 points and five boards, and Lakee Westbrook followed with 10 points, four assists and four rebounds.
 
The Tigers outscored the Bisons 26-4 on points off turnovers, 14-7 on second-chance points, 34-26 on points in the paint, and Ouachita received 29 points from the bench.
 
Ouachita is currently tied with East Central University for first place in the GAC standings. The Tigers will host Henderson State for their next contest, on Monday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.