SEARCY, Arkansas - It was a tough day for the Storm Men's Basketball squad as they fell by 30 points to the host Harding in Searcy. 

The Storm's (10-11, 7-9 GAC) 88-58 loss came from a poor shooting day as they posted a low 35% shooting clip and only knocking down 4 of their 24 threes. The Bisons (11-11, 8-8 GAC) were terrific from the field, shooting 54% and hitting 13 total threes. Harding also was nearly perfect from the charity stripe, hitting 19 of 21. 

Harding's hefting scoring gap wasn't in effect until the second half, making their first half a dog fight the entire 20 minutes. Jonas Visser gave SNU the first couple of points to start the game, gaining the 6-5 lead over Harding. An 8-0 run by the Bisons pushed them to a seven point lead that they held for the remainder of the half. 

Benno Zecic was an offensive monster midway through the first half, knocking down shot after shot for a quick 11 points to put SNU within three points with five minutes remaining. The SNU bench contributed to the fire and kept the Storm within just a few points in the final few minutes. Keeshawn Mason was doing work in the paint for the Storm, but Harding snuck in the final four points of the half, controlling a 39-32 lead at the half. 

The Bisons broke out another 5-0 run to kick off the second half, putting SNU in a 12-point hole. SNU looked for a way to battle back, but Harding found success in multiple scoring runs, also getting trips to the free line for an even larger lead at 21. 

Shawn Barthelemy came up big with a few buckets to help cut the lead down to 19, but Harding was not going away easy, building together more runs to shoot back to a 25 advantage. With under five minutes remaining, Southern Nazarene searched for an edge, but the hot shooting from Harding was near impossible to contain, evading to the benches to be cleared for the final minutes left of play. 

Harding outscored the Storm 11-6 in the last five minutes, most of the points coming from the charity stripe, leading to their final victory 88-58 over SNU. 

Despite the loss, SNU had several key performers with Zecic leading the way with 23 points. Barthelemy added in 11 points. 

Up Next 

Southern Nazarene will gear up for their next home game February 15th as the Oklahoma Baptist Bison come to Bethany for a 7 p.m. tip time.