RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. -- Harding sophomore Andraz Kavas dropped in 18 points as the Bisons' offensive execution down the stretch resulted in Midwestern State's first loss of the season -- 74-70 -- in the Arkansas Tech Thanksgiving Classic lid lifter Friday afternoon at Tucker Coliseum.

"Those guys were excited to play and the competed on both ends of the floor," MSU coach Nelson Haggerty said. "They went after balls, outfought us for rebounds and executed well down the stretch.  That out-toughed us and completely outplayed us tonight."

Led by their 6-10 sophomore big man, HU utilized an outside-inside attack to connect at a 53.8 percent clip from the floor in the second half as five different players connected on treys including three from sophomore Tony Cochran, and two each by senior guard Weston Jameson and sophomore guard Jacob Gibson.

The Mustangs used strong play by senior guard Cam Adderley, who poured in 11 of his season-high 19 points in the opening half, with help off of the bench from Xavier Blackburn, Monzaigo Wiliams and DeVaughn Jones as the four combined for 27 of MSU's 34 first half points.

"Cam was on fire in the first half," Haggerty said. "He made some basket in the second half that really kept us in it."

MSU led by as many as seven points when Jones capped off a 9-2 run with a layup in transition to push the advantage to 25-18 with 6:52 to play in the first half.

But Jameson hit a trey at the 5:28 mark and Cochran followed with two more to cap an 11-0 Harding run to give the Bisons a 29-25 lead 3:41 before intermission.

The Mustangs would bounce back to a slim 34-32 halftime lead. The battle continued into the second half as the teams exchanged the lead seven times and tied nine times in the final stanza.

MSU seemed to grasp control of the momentum midway through the second period as Derrell Gibbs  keyed a 7-0 run with a 3-pointers and a lay-in to give the Mustangs a 55-50 advantage.

Harding found the answer as Kavas converted a three-point play at the 8:08 mark and Gibson threw a trey from the top of the key to give the Bisons a 58-57 lead.

MSU senior forward Derek Kaster followed with a pair of free throws to give the Mustangs' their final advantage of the game at 59-58, but Jameson followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing to re-establish the lead for Harding.

Williams aded 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in 22 minutes off of the bench, while Blackburn added nine points off of the bench for the Mustangs.

Midwestern State battles host Arkansas Tech in the Thanksgiving Classic finale Saturday afternoon at Tucker Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.