Box Score ALVA, OKLA. – The East Central University men's basketball team played a strong game, but fell just short, 70-73, to Northwestern Oklahoma State in Great American Conference action at Percefull Fieldhouse.

Box Score

The Tigers (14-9, 11-6 GAC) were led by senior Henry Pwono, who was one rebound shy of a double-double.  Pwono tallied 19 points and nine rebounds.  Redshirt freshman A.J. Moutry added 15 points and four boards, while senior Shaq Burrell tallied 11 points.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle for the first 10 minutes, with no team leading by more than four points.  ECU pushed the tempo of the game from 10:25-7:55, with an 8-2 run that pushed the lead to five (24-19).  The Tigers kept the lead between one and five points for the rest of the half and went into the locker room with a 38-35 advantage.

The second half was tight at the start, with the Tigers taking a seven-point lead (49-42), with just over 14 minutes left to play.  However, the Rangers (10-12, 7-9 GAC) fought back and regained the lead (49-52), with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes.  ECU fought back to tie the game at 56, with eight minutes left to play.

The teams then traded runs over the next four minutes before NWOSU started to pull away by making their shots from the charity stripe, with three minutes to play.  The Rangers were leading, 65-69, with a minute on the clock when senior Chris Fisher hit a triple to cut the deficit to one (68-69).

Fisher then turned in a key defensive play, holding his man to a five-second call and a turnover to give ECU a shot to take the lead.  The Tigers missed their shot attempt on the next possession and were forced to foul with 13.4 seconds left.  The Rangers missed the first two shots, but were fouled on the rebound and made both of the next two for the 68-71 lead.

Fisher was fouled and sent to the line with 5.3 seconds left, making both to cut the deficit to one (70-71).  A quick foul led NWOSU back to the free throw line to push the lead back to three, with 3.8 ticks on the clock left.  ECU had a chance to tie the game, but was unable to get the shot off and fell 70-73.

Free throws became a key to the game, as both teams shot around 40 percent from the field for the game and both made seven triples.  The Rangers went 22-of-32 from the charity stripe and ECU was held to a 17-of-22 mark.

The Tigers have one more road game before finishing the regular-season at the Kerr Activities Center.  ECU will face Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla., Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.