Box Score CLAREMORE, OKLA. – The East Central University men's basketball team extended its winning streak to three games, by earning an 82-79 win over Rogers State in non-conference action.

Box Score

The Tigers (5-4) were led by senior Henry Pwono, who tallied a career-best 28 points and added seven rebounds.  Fellow senior Colby Carr added 17 points and redshirt freshman A.J. Moutry contributed 10.

The Hillcats (6-3) were the first to get on the scoreboard in the opening stanza, with two free throws.  However, it was ECU that then went on an 8-0 run over the next 1:30 to take the lead.  The Tigers held on to their lead for the rest of the half, with the game being tight throughout.  RSU cut the deficit to just one (26-25), with 7:25 left to play after going on a 7-0 run. ECU responded with a 6-0 run of its own to push the advantage back to seven (32-25).

The teams traded points over the next five minutes before the Tigers used a 5-0 run over a minute span to push the lead to 11 points (45-34).  Both teams kept the scoring low in the final 1:30 of the half and ECU went to the locker room with a 46-37 lead.

The second half was a much closer battle, with the Tigers holding the lead around 10 points until 6:30 remained in the half.  That is when the Hillcats used an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the deficit to two (69-67).  RSU kept fighting and forced a tie at 71, with 3:15 left on the clock.  ECU then pushed back and scored the next four points.

The Tigers kept RSU without a field goal until 27 seconds remained on the clock.  ECU scored seven points during the span and only allowed three free throws by the Hillcats, for a 78-74 score in favor of the Tigers.  ECU held on in the final seconds, getting key free throws and a dunk from junior Brandon Lucas for an 82-79 win.

The Tigers shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the field and added 18 points from the charity stripe.  The Hillcats had a strong game shooting, with a .448 mark overall (26-of-58) and .444 (8-18) from beyond the arc.

ECU will now return home for the final game of the 2013 portion of the season when they host Southwestern Adventist, Friday, Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. at the Kerr Activities Center.  The game will be a field trip for local fifth grade students.