Harding falls to Southern Arkansas 76-65 in Magnolia

This loss hurts a lot. It’s never a good sign to be dominated by a team that’s usually on the other end of games like this. Regardless of injuries, the Bisons did not played well, and recently they have not played with the composure one would expect from a good team. Even the little things, like holding on to the ball, have become a chore. The Bisons are now the only team in the conference that has been out-shot, out-rebounded, and out-handled in the conference season.

Luckily, the season schedule is such that the Bisons will be playing easier teams for a few games. After Monday’s potentially difficult home game against UCA, the Bisons get to face Christian Brothers, OBU, Arkansas Tech, and Henderson State. Those are four of the five worst teams in the division, so things can get better. For now, though, let’s look at this game.

The Keys:

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Rebounding has been one of the worst problems for the Bisons, despite the fact that the team boasts several good rebounders. On the season as a whole, HU has pulled down 3% less offensive rebounds than opponents, which is not good for extending possessions. We haven’t shot well enough this year or forced enough turnovers to make up for it, and SAU took advantage of all of those things in this game.

Lonnie Smith had 22 points in a solid, but not spectacular, shooting performance. Steven Barnett was solid, and beyond him, only Spree and Savadogo had games that could even be considered decent. Andrepont and Kee scored in double figures, but poor shot selection and turnovers plagued them both. Leon Stone led the Muleriders with a 21 and 11 night in scoring and rebounding. Cory Green, Kenny Langhorne, and Brandon Bealer also performed well for SAU, which played like a team on a mission.

Here are some of the Bisons’ advanced stats:

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Later, I’ll have some thoughts on an interesting night of GSC games.