An edited version of this article appeared in The Daily Citizen on March 12, 2014.
Last weekend the Harding University men’s and women’s basketball teams participated in the Great American Conference (GAC) Tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The following is a firsthand account from a fans perspective of the weekend.
Our trip to Bartlesville began when we departed Searcy on Friday morning. We were fortunate to have great weather for the drive over and it was beautiful to see the remnants of last weeks snow and ice along the trip. The drive to Bartlesville is a rather simple 5 hour trip west. Since we were traveling as a family (my wife and soon to be 1 year old son were with me) the trip ended up being closer to 6 hours after a couple of quick stops.
A few notes about Bartlesville; it is a historic town of about 35,000 people with a surprising amount of places to see. Much of the city’s history centers around two brothers, Frank and L.E. Phillips, who came to Bartlesville in 1904 after hearing about the oil boom that was happening. The brothers founded Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 and became Bartlesville’s largest employer. You may recognize their company today as ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66. Bartlesville is also home to renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s only built skyscraper. It is a 19-story tower that Wright described as “The Tree that Escaped the Crowded Forest.” While there are many museums and attractions that we hope to go back and see, the vast majority of our time over the weekend was spent watching a couple of great local teams play basketball.
After checking into our hotel, we headed to Bruin Fieldhouse on the campus of Bartlesville High School where the tournament was being hosted. The tournament began on Thursday with 4 first round games on the men’s side. Harding defeated East Central before we arrived and advanced to play the tournaments number 1 seed, Arkansas Tech, on Saturday afternoon.
Our first event was the GAC fan festival. The event took place in the school’s practice gym and consisted of inflatable games, music, and free food. We found a few fellow Bison fans and had a great time visiting while eating dinner. One common theme throughout the weekend was how welcoming and friendly all the tournament volunteers were. You could tell that they were proud to be hosting the tournament and it showed through their hospitality.
After dinner we walked over to Bruin Fieldhouse for our first game; a matchup between the Lady Bisons and Ouachita Baptist. The Fieldhouse is a state of the art arena and a great place to watch basketball. We entered the arena on the 2nd floor so we were able to see the court immediately upon walking in. A wide walkway encircles the top of the arena so we could walk around the entire gym without missing any action. There was a large scoreboard over center court that not only worked the entire time but also gave individual stats and foul counts for each player on the court. All of the seating was general admission so fans were able to sit anywhere they chose. We were quickly able to find seats among a large contingent of fellow Bison fans.
Ouachita Baptist was playing their best basketball of the year and battled the Lady Bisons until the very end. Early foul trouble seemed to throw Harding off balance and Ouachita Baptist played like a team with nothing to lose. In the end, Harding freshmen A’ndi Haney knocked down some big free throws to lead Harding to a 60-57 victory. With the win, Harding advanced to the semifinals on Saturday to play Arkansas Tech.
A cold front moved in overnight and we woke up to a cold rain on Saturday morning. I can’t stress enough how great the people of Bartlesville were in hosting the tournament. We were greeted each time we entered the gym by volunteers who always had smiling faces and kind words. It was a great day for basketball in Bruin Fieldhouse and our first game was on the men’s side with Harding facing Arkansas Tech. Harding lost two absolute heartbreakers to Arkansas Tech during the regular season with both losses by one point including a buzzer beating defeat at home on Senior night.
The intensity level in Saturday’s game was high from the start. Both teams have fan bases that travel extremely well so the gym was loud and both teams seemed energized. Harding had a narrow 3 point advantage at halftime but came out on fire to start the 2nd half. Harding pulled away late and won by a score of 83-64. Seniors Weston Jameson and Hayden Johnson led the way as the team shot over 50% from the field and behind the three point line.
The Lady Bisons followed suit later in the evening as they defeated Arkansas Tech 81-48. Senior Kristen Celsor led a balanced attack for Harding as they jumped out to a 45-17 halftime lead and never looked back. The women’s team advanced to the championship on Sunday where they lost a tough game to Southwestern Oklahoma State, 74-78.
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| The Lady Bisons bench reacts to Senior Lauren Crenshaw knocking down a 3 pointer vs. Arkansas Tech. Crenshaw has been battling through a knee injury to return to the court. It was a great moment for a great Senior. |
Harding vs. Arkansas Tech Box Score
Harding vs. SWOSU Box Score
The Lady Bisons basketball season is not over though. Their record now stands at 29-2 and they were the outright champions of the GAC for the regular season. They have won more games than any women’s basketball team in school history and have earned the right to host the NCAA Central Region Championship this weekend as part of the NCAA DII basketball tournament. If you are going to be in Searcy this weekend, I highly recommend going to the Rhodes Field House on Friday night at 5:00 to support this fantastic team.
The championship game on the men’s side pitted Harding against a tough Henderson State opponent who they split their 2 regular season matchups with. Over the course of the season, circumstances caused the Bisons roster to shrink down to 8 players. With their roster depleted, this team could have easily quit. They were out manned and under sized against every opponent. When they lost 5 games in a row entering the conference tournament (all by 4 points or less), they could have mailed it in. Instead, they gave more. More minutes, more hustle, more intensity, more heart. Every member of the team answered the call and fulfilled their role when called upon.
Both Harding and Henderson State played for the Championship with great urgency, confidence, and determination. Every time one team would make a run, the other would seem to have an answer. It was an incredible college basketball game to say the least. Basketball is a great team sport. When it is being played the right way, it is a beautiful thing to watch. Five people working together and moving as one on defense. Five people being unselfish on offense and assertive when opportunities arise. That’s what happened on Sunday afternoon. After 40 minutes of regulation and two overtimes, Harding came away with the victory by a score of 93-86.
Harding vs. Henderson St. Box Score
As the final buzzer went off on Sunday, one thing that stood out to me was watching Harding Coach Jeff Morgan. I’m not sure what words of encouragement and affirmation he shared with the young coaches and players for Henderson State, but as he took a few extra seconds with them you could tell they were heartfelt and appreciated by a devastated team. Coach Morgan has been a constant behind Harding basketball for the last 20+ years. As players have come and gone, he has remained. The example he sets through his leadership has provided results beyond what is seen on the scoreboard.
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| After the game, Hayden Johnson and Blake McNair were named to the All-Tournament Team. Weston Jameson was named MVP of the tourney after playing every minute of every game for the Bisons. |
Jameson said it best following the Championship game in a quote he attributed to Coach Morgan, “Great teams have great teammates. We love each other. We care about each other and we don’t care who gets the points.” There was no doubt about it; this Championship was won by an entire team.
It was great to see them celebrate their victory and cut the nets down after they received their trophy. You could see the fulfillment and accomplishment on each of their faces. By winning the tournament, the Bisons received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament and will travel to Minnesota to play host team Minnesota State- Mankato on Saturday night at 5:00.
As they’ve played their last 19 games with only 8 players, I’ve heard a few nicknames start to pop up for this particular Harding team. Despite my best efforts in support of “The Outstanding Octuplets” and “The Opportunistic Ocho,” it seems like “The Great Eight” is the name which has the most traction. Call them whatever you want, but at the end of the day, this team has earned a name which no one can dispute: Champions.
