Sterrenberg Leads Harding Bisons to Road Victory at Henderson State

Courtesy HU Athletics Department

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Harding senior Adam Sterrenberg set career highs with 23 points and eight rebounds and led the Bisons to a 66-61 road victory over Henderson State in Great American Conference action Thursday at the Duke Wells Center.

The victory was Harding’s fourth straight and lifted the Bisons to 11-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play. It was Harding’s seventh win in its last eight games against Henderson State, who dropped to 8-4 overall and 3-3 in GAC action.

Harding made 25-of-29 free throws, including 6-of-8 during a crucial stretch at the end of the game. With the Bisons trailing 61-60, Hayden Johnson made the second of two free throws to tie the game with 1:05 left.

Following a Henderson State miss, the Reddies fouled Weston Jameson, who made two free throws and gave Harding a 63-61 lead with 31 seconds left. Henderson State’s Andrew Ensley then misfired on a 3-pointer, and Harding’s Bradley Spencer grabbed the rebound. He was fouled and made 1-of-2. The Reddies fouled Sterrenberg after another missed shot, and Sterrenberg drained both free throws to seal the victory.

Sterrenberg, a transfer from Arkansas State, has picked a great time to finding his scoring touch. Thursday’s game was his third straight with at least 13 points. He shot 6-of-9 from the field against the Reddies and made all 10 of his free throw attempts. It was only the 10th time since 1997 and the first time in a regular season GAC game that a Harding player made 10 or more free throws without a miss.

The game was tied at 31 at halftime, but Harding freshman guard Tony Cochran made 3-pointers on the Bisons’ first two possessions of the second half. He added another with 14:14 left that gave Harding a 45-38 lead. Henderson State then went on a 9-2 run and tied the game at 47. It was the first of four ties over the game’s final 10 minutes.

Cochran scored 11 points, and Johnson added 10 for the Bisons.

Ensley led Henderson State with 20 points and eight rebounds, but the Reddies made only 3-of-24 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range and missed all 15 3-pointers in the second half. Henderson State shot 37 percent for the game, becoming the fourth straight Harding opponent to shoot less than 40 percent.

Harding will look to continue its winning streak Saturday in Searcy against Ouachita Baptist. The Tigers, who are 3-3 in conference play, defeated Arkansas Tech 57-52 on Thursday in Arkadelphia.