Yarbrough leads Harding to double-OT win over Briarcrest

By Jason Williams

EADS, TN – Harding head coach Kevin Starks said he wasn’t sure if anyone could defend senior guard Reggie Anthony one-on-one, but with the his team tied against Briarcrest in double overtime, sophomore Anthony Yarbrough was the one who couldn’t be stopped.

Yarbrough finished with 27 points and scored back-to-back transition baskets in the closing minutes of double overtime to give Harding (14-8) a hard-fought victory over Briarcrest (15-8).

“It’s a team win,” said Yarbrough, a lefty with a soft touch from any spot on the court. “We came out here and executed and did what coach told us to do.”

Yarbrough credited his head coach for putting him in different positions to go one-on-one with whomever the Saints threw at him. He was his team’s primary weapon in the second half, scoring nine straight points in the third quarter and seven straight in the fourth. He made 12 shots on the night, including two three-pointers.

“When they were playing zone, I was able to pop out in the middle and go one-on-one,” Yarbrough said. “Coach Starks did a good job of calling different plays.”

“We do a lot of skill work with the basketball in practice,” Starks said. “I have some one-on-one guys. I have some guys that can go score, and Anthony and Reggie are two of the best we have that can go score the basketball.”

Briarcrest matched Harding’s super sophomore with their own sophomore, Micah Thomas, a 6-foot-7 guard. Thomas scored 26 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter and two overtime periods. He also finished with seven rebounds and four blocks.

“It’s good competition to see where my game is and compare it to other people,” Thomas said of the opportunity to go against another top underclassman.

Briarcrest point guard Mark French, another talented sophomore, is the Saints’ second-leading scorer on the season at 10.9 points per game but found himself scoreless heading into the fourth quarter.

With his team trailing by three with 30 seconds to go, French drove the length of the court for a lay-up to cut the Lions’ lead to one. Anthony responded with two free throws, and the Lions led 74-71 with 10 seconds on the clock, but French hit a step-back three-pointer with one second left to send the game to overtime.

After the teams traded baskets in the first overtime period, it was Yarbrough who wove through defenders in transition to put the Lions on top. Anthony hit two free throws to give the Lions a three-point cushion, but the Saints could not connect on multiple three-point attempts to tie.

“(Anthony) is just a leader,” Starks said. “When your best player is also your hardest worker, that makes things a lot easier for me. He is an extension of me out there on the court, and I also give him a lot of freedom.”

Anthony finished an impressive all-around performance with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
35	Micah Thomas*	26	7	2	4	4	0	11-21	2-10	2-3
21	Maceo Woodard*	14	7	2	4	2	2	4-11	1-4	5-5
4	Gus Gran*	13	10	1	4	0	2	5-8	0-0	3-3
20	Will Hrubes	8	5	0	2	0	0	3-6	2-4	0-0
10	Mark French*	7	1	4	2	0	0	2-5	1-3	2-2
11	Adam Pike	7	2	3	0	0	0	1-5	1-3	4-4
15	KeShun Pinkney*	5	1	3	2	0	0	1-2	1-2	2-2
2	Marc Wilhite	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
3	Isaiah Sampson	0	1	1	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
22	Emerick Lester	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		80	37	16	18	6	4	27-58	8-26	18-19

No.	HA Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
30	Anthony Yarbrough*	27	5	1	1	0	5	12-19	2-2	1-2
3	Reggie Anthony*	21	8	7	3	0	2	7-17	2-5	5-6
20	Will Gardner*	13	5	0	1	0	1	4-7	3-5	2-2
22	Scott Parham*	8	3	1	2	0	1	3-11	2-7	0-0
23	Troy West*	8	1	1	0	0	1	2-3	0-1	4-6
4	Brandon Lee	5	1	0	0	0	0	1-4	0-3	2-2
14	Jesse Adkins	1	3	2	0	0	0	0-3	0-0	1-2
2	Corliss Settles	0	2	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	2	–	1	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		83	30	12	8	0	10	29-64	9-23	15-20