TULSA, OKLA. – The East Central University men's basketball team played a strong game, but fell 68-75 to NCAA Division I Oral Roberts in an exhibition game at the Mabee Center to open the 2014-15 season.

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The Tigers were led by junior Stirling Thomas, with 25 points and five rebounds, while senior Henry Pwono tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds.  The duo were two of four players with double-digit point totals, with redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves adding 15 and senior Brandon Lucas 10.

"I'm really proud of our guys and the way they competed against a very good ORU team," said head coach Ja Havens.  "We got some great feedback on the things that we need to improve upon as a team as we continue to prepare for the challenging schedule ahead.  We are also very appreciative of coach Sutton and ORU for giving our program this opportunity and experience."

ECU came out ready to fight and took an early 11-4 advantage, with Reeves hitting two triples and Lucas adding one in the first two minutes.

The Tigers increased the lead to as many as 11 in the opening stanza, going up 16-5 with an 11-1 run over a two minute span.

Over the next 10 minutes ECU kept the lead between 4-10 points, before a Golden Eagles 10-point run over the next four minutes tied the game at 32, with 2:33 remaining in the opening half.  However, the Tigers countered with a 6-1 run over the final minutes of the stanza to take a 38-33 advantage into the locker room.

ECU held on to the advantage and increased it back to as many as eight in the opening seven minutes in the second half.  ORU took its first lead of the half at 13:14.  The teams then traded baskets over the next four minutes and were knotted at 57.

That is when the Golden Eagles went on an 8-2 run, until 4:40, to gain a six point advantage.  The Tigers kept the disadvantage within three to seven points the rest of the half, but were unable to regain the lead and fell 68-75.

Both teams opened the season with strong shooting percentages, with ECU making 45.5% (25-of-55) of their shots and ORU 43.3% (26-of-60).  The Tigers were also hitting their shots from beyond the arc, making 43.5% (10-of-23) and held the Golden Eagles to 16.7% (3-of-18).

ECU will now prepare for the start of the 2014-15 regular-season at the GAC/NSIC Challenge in Bartlesville, Okla.  The Tigers will first face Southwest Minnesota, Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Wayne State College, Saturday, Nov. 15 at 4 p.m.