Bisons Experience Rocky Season The Harding University basketball team met with frequent frustration during the 1984-85 campaign , watching as numerous ball games slipped through their fingers in the waning moments and finishing at the bottom of the tough Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference with a 5-13 AIC record and a 13-17 overall mark. Ending up on the short end of two overtime games and with six losses in the final seconds of the contest, the Bisons found themselves excluded from a return appearance at the District 17 playoffs. Coming on strong in their non· conference schedule, the Bisons burst out of the gate with an 8-4 record that had their optimism running high. However , the team fell on hard times as the conference season began losing its first three AIC games by a total of 34 pOints. Harding bounced back to roll over Hendrix College 74-61 and then picked up a victory by forfeit over College of the Ozarks. A two-game slide immediately followed as the Bisons fell to Ouachita Baptist Un iversity 58-60 and Arkansas Tech University 58-64. The squad then found the winning groove once again by defeating Southern Arkansas University 58-55 but came up short against the University of Central Arkansas by a 65-68 margin. The Bisons picked up a much-needed win over Henderson State University 66-48, but hit a three-game slump to drop out of the playoff picture; a 57-64 loss to Arkansas College was followed by a 68-70 shortcoming in overtime to Arkansas Tech University , then suffered a 47-67 beating at the hands of College of the Ozarks. Just when things looked the worst for the struggling Bisons, senior guard Dwight Weaver hit a pair of free throws with no time remaining to lift the Bisons over the Tigers 62-61 in a classic heart-stopper. Another overtime loss followed, though, this time to Tech by a 60-62 score. To close out the season, Harding dropped its final two games to SAU and UAM with respective scores of 52-63 and 66-92. We were inexperienced at guard this year, but what really hurt us was not being able to win the close games. - Kenny Collins Although their season's final outcome left much to be desired, the Bisons got some outstanding performances from several veteran players and a pair of freshmen with high potential. Junior Kenny Collins led the team in scoring with an average of 14.8 pOints per game and in rebounding with 6.8 per game from his forward position. Collins provided the squad with valuable leadership through his intense style of play and was rewarded for his efforts with a selection to the Academic All-American first Men's Basketball Team. Front row; Hughes, Weaue r, Hall , Carter, Smallwood, Parker, Walker , Johnson·trainer. Back row: Boyd.assistant coach, Gibbons.graduate assistant, Fowler, Foster, Col· lins, AI/umbaugh, Sanstra, Bucy·coach. - photo by Public Relations Office. 144 Men's Basketball team, an honor team named by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and to the AII- AIC team. Senior forward Rich Foster provided the team with an imminent scoring threat with his uncanny ability to hit the outside shot. As captain of the team, Foster averaged 14.1 pOints and 3.5 rebounds a game. Weaver, the leader in many Bison comeback bids, brought stability to the backcourt and played strong on the boards to average six rebounds a contest. Sophomore Shannon Hughes joined Weaver as the team's pointguard to give the Bisons a very talented twosome in the backcourt. Hughes proved himself to be a heads -up ballplayer, averaging three assists per game. Forward David Allumbough and center Troy Sanstra both contributed to the inside strength of the ball club as they put together topnotch senior seasons. Freshman guard Tim Smallwood lived up to his All-State ranking by the Tulsa press as an Oklahoma prepster. The speedster saw action in all of the Bisons' contests and eventually earned a spot in the starting lineup. Mid-Air Collision. Kenny Collins battles with an opponent for the ball. - photo by Public Relations Office.
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