ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita men's basketball team dropped its Great American Conference opener 79-71 Thursday night to the Bisons of Harding University.
Ouachita (1-4, 0-1 GAC) and Harding (4-3, 1-0 GAC) started out even, trading shots and small leads over the nine minutes of the game. At the 11-minute mark, the Tigers retook the lead 18-16 and pushed that lead out to double-digits over the next seven minutes to lead 31-21. Over the final four minutes of the first half, the Bisons chipped away at Ouachita's lead to make just a two-point game at the break, with the Tigers heading into the break up 35-33.
The Tigers made the first shot out of the break, but from there, Harding took control. Five minutes into the second half, the Bisons tied the game at 45 and took the lead shortly after. The Tigers tried to climb their way back, cutting the deficit to six points late in the half, but it was not enough. Harding held onto their lead to win 79-71.
Four Tigers reached double-digits in scoring tonight, led by
Emorie Knox with a career-high 19 points. Knox was followed by
Tylar Haynes with 16,
Reggie Martin with 14 and
Terran Williams with 11.
Haynes and Martin tied for the team lead in rebounds with eight each. Martin also led in assists as he handed out four of them.
The Tigers will look to bounce back this weekend as they take on the Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech University on Saturday, December 2 at 3 p.m. in Russellville, Arkansas.
