HENDERSON, Tenn. – A top-15 battle lived up to its billing with the No. 7 Freed-Hardeman University Lions hosting the No. 11 Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs. Regulation was not enough. One overtime was not enough. It took two overtime periods to determine the victor with FHU battling to the 91-89 win.

A defensive battle from the tipoff, the Lions (5-1) got on the board first at 17:47 with a jumper from Peyton Law. Central Baptist would answer with a 3-pointer before Phil Horton’s jumper ignited a seven-point run capped by Blake Dean’s triple. The Mustangs answered to tie the game with a layup at 9:32, but FHU took a lead and then some, scoring 12 unanswered points with Jordan Stephens’ long ball putting the Lions on top 26-14 with 5:13 remaining in the first act. Late free throws and late 3-pointers from CBC narrowed the gap when time expired on round one with FHU leading 37-30 at the break.

The Mustangs (5-1) came out of the locker room with the same momentum they entered, scoring the first seven points of the second half including a free throw tying the game at 17:12. From there, neither team would lead by more than two possessions with Phil Horton pushing the Lions ahead by scoring eight points in just over one minute. A 3-pointer from Stephens tied the game with 1:56 remaining in regulation before the Mustangs were able to take a three-point lead into the final 60 seconds. Horton again had the big bucket, draining a 3-pointer with five seconds to go before blocking the last shot attempt to end regulation in a 76-76 tie.

CBC opened the first overtime by taking a four-point lead; however, Geralo Lane joined Horton at the charity stripe to go 4-4 with Horton’s with 30 seconds tying the game 82-82. Vying for the last shot, the Mustangs attempted a 3-pointer with three seconds left, but Lane secured the rebound to force a second overtime.

The Lions drew first blood in the second overtime with a jumper from Law, but the Mustangs answered with a 3-pointer. Stephens connected for a jumper to give FHU a lead they would maintain until the end. A 3-pointer narrowed the gap to one point, but Lane again hit his free throws with two seconds to go to claim the victory 91-89.

FHU out-rebounded CBC 51-36 and dominated from the bench with FHU scoring 44 points to CBC’s 18 bench points. The Mustangs were led by Sage Borbon’s 43 points including 10 3-pointers.

Peyton Law and Geraldo Lane both tallied double-doubles with Law sinking 20 points with a team-high 12 rebounds while Lane scored 18 points with 10 rebounds. Phil Horton was a rebound short of a double-double with 20 points and nine boards. Jordan Stephens tallied 19 points and a team-high four assists in the win.

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KANSAS CITY – John Brown junior Terrah Stephens was named NAIA Women’s Basketball National Player of the Week for Week 8 of the 2021-2022 season.

In JBU’s 78-73 overtime win over Panhandle State, Stephens rewrote three single-game program records, including total points, field goals made and field goals attempted by finishing the afternoon with a 45-point outing on 18-of-27 shooting from the floor. Finishing 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, she completed her fifth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.

Stephens also hit another milestone and punched her ticket into the 1,000 point club. The Wyandotte, Okla. native became the 19th entry onto the prestigious list in the third when her hook shot fell after shedding a defender with a pivot back into the middle.

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MAGNOLIA – Two Harding freshmen scored career highs Saturday as the Lady Bisons dismantled Southern Arkansas, 95-70, Saturday in Great American Conference women’s basketball action at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Aubrey Isbell, a freshman from Mountain View, Arkansas, scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. It was the first 20-point game of her career.

Kendrick “Bug” Bailey, a freshman from Hollister, Missouri, made her third career start and scored a career-high 14 points. She shot 5 of 6 from the field and added five assists and two steals.

The Lady Bisons lost their last three games on Saturday but put the game away early against Southern Arkansas. Harding led by 18 points after three quarters.

Harding won consecutive conference games for the first time this season and improved to 10-5 overall and 6-4 in the GAC. Southern Arkansas lost for the fifth time in its last six games and dropped to 8-7 overall and 3-6 in conference.

Harding’s freshmen had plenty of help from the upperclassmen. Junior Jacie Evans shot 8 of 10 from the field and scored 19 points. Sophomore Sage Hawley had 16 points and 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season and second straight.

The Lady Bisons shot a season-high 53.7% from the field, making more than half their shots in three of the four quarters, leading to a season-high scoring total. Harding was 19 of 24 from the free-throw line, including 12 of 13 in the fourth quarter.

On the defensive end, Harding held Southern Arkansas to a season-low 28.4% shooting. The Muleriders missed 32 of 39 3-point attempts. Southern Arkansas averaged almost 90 points per game entering Saturday’s action but was held to 70 points or fewer for only the third time this season.

Harding pushed its lead to 18 points at 69-51 in the third quarter with solid play on both ends. The Lady Bisons shot 56% in the quarter and limited Southern Arkansas to only 29% shooting. The Muleriders made only 1 of 8 3-point attempts.

Harding shot 54.3% in the first half and made three 3-pointers to lead 45-35 at the break. The Lady Bisons held Southern Arkansas to only 26.2% shooting and forced 17 misses on 21 3-point attempts.

Harding will look to make it three straight wins Thursday when it hosts Northwestern Oklahoma at 5 p.m. at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

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LAFAYETTE, La. – Caleb Fields drained a game-tying 3-pointer with three-tenths of a second remaining to send the game to overtime, but the Arkansas State men’s basketball team fell in overtime, 83-77, Thursday against Louisiana.

A-State drops to 10-4 on the season and 1-1 in Sun Belt play while the Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 8-5 overall and 3-0 in league play.

Norchad Omier had game-highs with 29 points and 17 rebounds for his ninth double-double this season and 24th career. Markise Davis joined Omier in double figures with 11 points while Caleb Fields had nine points, seven assists and five rebounds. Marquis Eaton scored six of his nine points and the charity stripe and Desi Sills added eight points, four assists and four rebounds. Kobe Julien led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 20 points with Theo Akwuba and Dou Gueye registering double-doubles.

The first 20 minutes had seven lead changes with the Ragin’ Cajuns leading for much of the half. A-State forced eight Ragin’ Cajuns miscues, but the hosts held a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers for the half. After six first half turnovers, the Red Wolves committed just three turnovers over the final 25 minutes.

Trailing much of the second half, A-State saw the Ragin’ Cajuns used an 8-0 run to lead 62-53 with 8:36 to play. The Red Wolves clawed back with Davis draining a corner 3-pointer to tie the game at 66 with 3:40 left in regulation. An alley-oop from Fields to Omier gave A-State a 68-67 lead, the first lead for the Red Wolves since an 11-10 lead at 12:46 of the first half.

Louisiana tallied the next five points, but A-State refused to go away. After the Ragin’ Cajuns split a pair of free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining, A-State had a chance to tie and Fields drained the game-tying 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.3 showing on the clock. The game went to overtime, the first for A-State since January of last season and the Ragin’ Cajuns outscored the Red Wolves 8-4 for the victory. A-State was limited to 1-of-8 shooting in the extra frame while the Ragin’ Cajuns scored four of their eight points at the charity stripe.

Behind 17 rebounds from Omier, A-State out-rebounded the Ragin’ Cajuns 41-40. The Red Wolves logged 15 assists on 25 made field goals, but finished 35.2 percent (25-71) from the field and 27.8 percent (5-18) beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Ragin’ Cajuns shot 50.0 percent (30-60) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-14) from 3-point range. A-State was 22-of-27 (.815) at the line while the hosts were 18-of-24 (.750). The Ragin’ Cajuns outscored A-State 42-30 in the paint and 17-8 off turnovers.

A-State continues the road trip Saturday at ULM. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Fant-Ewing Coliseum with the matchup airing on ESPN+ and across the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and flagship station 107.9 KFIN. For the latest on A-State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).

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ADA, Okla. – Junior guard Blake Rogers registered a career-high 26 points, the most by a Mulerider this season, and senior forward Devante Brooks filled up his stat ledger with a double-double for the ninth time this year and for the eighth-consecutive game, but Southern Arkansas was slowed late on the road Thursday night in Ada as East Central topped the Muleriders 81-77 in Great American Conference action. The defeat snaps a four-game winning streak by SAU and drops the team’s overall record to 9-4 with a 5-2 mark in league play.

Rogers matched the highest made shot output by a Mulerider this season with nine. He added one assist and one rebound. Brooks’ ninth double-double was a result of 19 points and 11 rebounds with one steal and an assist.

The contest saw eight lead changes with seven coming in the second half to go along with six tied scores, four of which occurred in the final twenty minutes of play.

A layup by Brooks cut the SAU deficit to a penny at 65-64 with 4:47 to play. The Tigers responded with a three-point bucket to go up four points, but it was an ‘and-1’ effort from senior guard Aaron Lucas at the 2:33 mark that again brought the Muleriders to within a point of the Tiger lead at 68-67. Over the next 70 seconds, ECU quickly engineered a 7-0 run to lead 74-67 with 1:02 to play. East Central’s lead grew to as much as nine points in the final sixty seconds before nestling at four by the final horn.

The Tigers scored ten of the game’s first 13 points as ECU built a seven-point advantage at the 13:42 mark of the opening 20 minutes of play. However, the Muleriders, much like Stella, would find their groove and engineer a 14-6 run which led to the visitor’s first lead of the contest at 17-16 with 9:11 remaining in the first half.

Aiding that stretch of +8 scoring was junior guard Kris Wyche who delivered eight points on three shots including the go-ahead trifecta. Rogers picked up for Wyche moments later as the Mississippian scored nine of SAU’s next 13 points, which included seven straight and a conversion on an old-fashioned three-point play, as the Muleriders built a 30-23 lead just prior to the under-4 media timeout.

Rogers also produced a personal 7-0 run in the second half which gave the Muleriders its last lead of the night at 62-60 with 7:19 left.

Brooks added the final two buckets for the Muleriders in the first half as the Shreveport native entered the intermission a rebound shy of a double-double. SAU led 34-30 after East Central converted a driving shot at the horn to cap the first 20 minutes of action.

ECU dominated inside outscoring the Muleriders by 18 points in the paint in addition to grabbing ten more rebounds.

On Saturday, the Muleriders head south to Durant as a 3 p.m. tipoff with Southeastern Oklahoma State inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena wraps up the team’s first Oklahoma swing of the season.

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WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Ma’Darius Hobson nailed a long two-pointer with one second remaining in overtime on Thursday to give the Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team an 82-81 road win over Southwestern Oklahoma State.

Hobson’s game-winner was right in front of the Ouachita (3-8, 1-4 GAC) bench to give the Tigers their first conference victory and first road win of the season.

Ouachita led by as many as 11 points in the first half, and held a 10-point lead of 46-36 at the halftime break.

SWOSU (3-8, 2-4 GAC) rallied in the second half to outscore the Tigers 38-28 to force overtime. Neither team scored in the final 1:44 of the second half.

Prior to Hobson’s game-winner, neither team had scored since SWOSU went up by one on a three-pointer with 2:15 remaining in the extra period.

Hobson led the Tigers with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He also had a team high seven rebounds and four assists. Tylar Haynes added 15 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Alex Scariolo added 13 points and five boards. T’vondrick Henryhad 11 points.

The Tigers carry their momentum a couple hours north to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.

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RUSSELLVILLE – For the first time in what has been an illustrious career as a Mulerider, Southern Arkansas senior forward Devante Brooks has been named the Great American Conference’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. The official announcement was made early Monday afternoon by the league and comes after Brooks delivered a pair of impressive performances this past weekend to help the Muleriders to two league wins.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Brooks became the second Mulerider in program history, the first in the program’s NCAA Era and the first player in GAC history to collect 1,000 rebounds which he reached with his ninth board of the night in Thursday’s 69-49 win over Northwestern Oklahoma. Double-doubles in both wins ran his season total to eight, improved his streak to seven and stood as the 36th and 37th such efforts of his career, respectively, which continues to build as the most in league history.

He averaged 17 points per game behind an overall shooting clip of 50% and he grabbed 15.5 rebounds per game. Brooks scored 21 points and added 15 rebounds to his season ledger against the Rangers and two nights later he followed that effort with 13 points and 16 rebounds in a 70-41 win over Southwestern Oklahoma.

For his career, Brooks has recorded 10+ rebounds in a game 37 times and has eclipsed ten points in 68 games.

Devante and the Muleriders prepare for their first Oklahoma road swing of the season as East Central (1/6) and Southeastern Oklahoma (1/8) await Southern Arkansas this weekend.

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SEARCY – In a game that had 17 lead changes, Harding grabbed the lead for good on a Taylor Currie jumper with 9:35 left and the Bisons held off a late charge from Great American Conference leader Southeastern Oklahoma upsetting the Savage Storm, 76-73, Saturday at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

Harding snapped a four-game home skid with the victory and improved to 4-8 overall and 2-4 in conference games. Southeastern Oklahoma had a nine-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the GAC.

“The guys came out and had great energy and great focus,” head coach Jeff Morgan said. “Who knows where it will go from here, but I really feel like this team is buying in and believing in each other.”

Currie’s jumper gave Harding the lead 57-56, and the Bisons pushed their advantage to eight at 71-63 with 3:51 left on two Stetson Smithson layups.

Southeastern scored the next seven points and cut the Harding lead to 71-70 on an Ante Brzovic dunk with 1:25 left. Harding ended the run with another Currie layup at the 1:05 mark, and Sam Henderson made a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to push Harding’s lead to 76-70.

Southeastern’s Adam Dworsky came right back with a 3-pointer, but the Savage Storm missed two 3s late that could have tied the game.

Harding limited Southeastern to a season-low 37.5% shooting. The Savage Storm had not shot below 43% in a game this season. Southeastern also had a season-high 14 turnovers.

Currie and Smithson led Harding with 20 points each, and Ramiro Santiago added 10.

Kellen Manek led Southeastern with 21 points. Brzovic had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Savage Storm.

Harding had one of its best first halves of the season, leading 39-37 at the break. Southeastern, one of the best 3-point shooting teams in Division II, made only 7 of 22 (32%) in the first half, and Harding held a 20-12 advantage in the paint with only three turnovers.

The lead changed hands 11 times in the first half.

Harding returns to action Thursday for its first Oklahoma road trip in two years. The Bisons will take on Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee and will play Southern Nazarene Saturday in Bethany.

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JONESBORO – Led by four players scoring in double figures, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team won its Sun Belt Conference opener and third consecutive game with a 74-56 victory over Georgia Southern on Saturday at First National Bank Arena.

The Red Wolves have now won seven of their last eight games and stand 10-3 overall, including a 7-1 mark at home.  They connected on 43.9 percent of their shots and made 19-of-20 free throws, while limiting Georgia Southern (7-6, 0-2) to a .367 field goal percentage.

A-State was led by Norchad Omier with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds, giving the second-year freshman forward eight double-doubles this season and 23 for his career.  Marquis Eaton and Desi Sills both finished with 15 points, while Caleb Fields added 11.

While A-State never trailed and held a 13-point lead, 23-10, with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, it took just a 27-22 lead into the break.  However, the Red Wolves scored 12 of the first 16 points to start the second half and rebuilt their lead to 13.

A-State, which outscored Georgia Southern 47-34 in the second half, held a double-digit lead the rest of the way as its advantage reached as much as 26 points, 71-45, with just under two minutes remaining.

The Red Wolves held a 39-35 advantage on the boards, improving to 10-0 on the year when outrebounding their opponent.  They collected six blocks as well, tying their second most this year.

In addition to his 15 points, Sills also posted a career-high five steals, helping the Red Wolves register 12 as a team to tie their second most this year.  Fields’ day also included seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a career-high two blocks.

Georgia Southern was led by two players scoring in double digits, including junior forward Andrei Savrasov with 13 and senior guard Kaden Archie with 12.

Arkansas State returns to action Thursday, Jan. 6, with a 7:00 p.m. game at Louisiana.  The contest will appear on ESPN+, and every A-State men’s basketball team can be heard live on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network, including flagship station 107.9 FM in the Northeast Arkansas area.  For the latest on A-State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).

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JONESBORO – Led by a career-high 31 points and game-high 10 rebounds from forward Norchad Omier, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team claimed an 88-66 victory over Lyon College Tuesday at First National Bank Arena to wrap up its non-conference schedule.

The Red Wolves have now won six of their last seven games to improve their record to 9-3 overall and 6-1 at home.  Since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1991-92, A-State won nine non-conference games for just the fourth time and first time since the 2016-17 season.

Omier was responsible for the most points scored by an Arkansas State player this season, making 15 field goals that were just two shy of the First National Bank Arena record.  He was joined in double figures by juniors Markise Davis and Desi Sills with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

The Red Wolves made 40-of-74 shots for a .541 field goal percentage, while limiting the Scots to a .377 percentage and turning the ball over a season-low seven times.  They also blocked a season-high seven shots and dished out 25 assists, their second most of the year, on their 40 buckets that were a season high.

The game’s first 14 minutes featured four ties and two lead changes as neither team led by more than seven points.  However, with the score knotted 27-27 at the 6:06 mark, A-State put together an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead for good.

The Red Wolves took a 45-35 advantage into the break before outscoring the Scots 43-31 in the second half.  They opened the final 20 minutes with 22-9 run to push their lead to 67-44 with 12:58 remaining and extended the advantage to as many as 24 points.

Omier collected his seventh double-double of the season and 22nd of his career as his team-leading 10 rebounds helped A-State post a 42-31 advantage on the boards.  While senior guard Marquis Eaton scored just six points in the game, it pushed his career total to 1,465 to move him into a tie with Chico Fletcher (1996-2000) for the seventh most in school history.

Lyon was led by two players scoring in double figures, including Ben Keton with a game-high 24 points and John Paul Morgan with 11.

Arkansas State returns to action Thursday, Dec. 30, beginning Sun Belt Conference action with a 7:00 p.m. home game against Georgia State.  The contest will appear on ESPN+, and every A-State men’s basketball game can be heard live on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network, including flagship station 107.9 FM in the Northeast Arkansas area.

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