The East Central University men's basketball team will wrap up a three-game road trip, Thursday, Feb. 20 when they travel to Bethany, Okla., to face Southern Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. in the Sawyer Center.

Game Notes

The Broadcast
ECU's radio home for Tigers basketball in 2012-13 is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Kenny Morrison returns to broadcast the games for his 17th season. Morrison, a 1987 ECU graduate, spent two seasons doing color prior to taking over the play-by-play duties during the 1997-98 season.  

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video (if available) and the KXFC radio broadcast on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the men's basketball schedule page. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast online or through the FREE KXFC App available in ITunes, Google Stores where apps are sold and www.kxfcradio.com.

Scouting Southern Nazarene
The Crimson Storm are 12-10 overall and 10-6 in the Great American Conference after winning their last four games.

SNU has a +2.2 scoring a -1.8 rebounding margin for the season.  While they are close in overall shooting (.443 to .434) they average nine triples to 6.6 by the opposition.  The Crimson Storm are definitely a second-half team, scoring 164 more points than in the first and allowing just 90 more.

SNU has two players that are averaging double-digits in the point's column in CJ Smith and Quan Conner.  Smith has 21.7 points per game and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting .530 from the field.  Conner adds 17.1 points, 4.8 boards and 65 percent of his overall shots are from beyond the arc.

Against the Crimson Storm
The first game of the 2013-14 series with SNU was a tight game that was forced into overtime.  Senior Colby Carr hit a game-winning three with four seconds left to give the Tigers the 62-61 victory.

Carr had a total of 12 points and eight rebounds in the game, with junior Brandon Lucas leading the team with 24 points and seven boards.

CJ Smith and Quan Conner each tallied over 20 points for the Crimson Storm.  Smith garnered 24 points, while Conner tallied 21 points and added eight boards.

The Series
Despite starting in 1972-73, the all-time series with the Crimson Storm has only been played 16 times.  SNU currently hold a slight 8-7 advantage in the series.

First in the GAC Tournament
The Tigers have gone from the lone team in the GAC to not participate in a post season tournament to being the first team to guarantee a spot in the 2013-14 GAC Tournament in Bentonville, Ark., March 6-9.  This is the first time since the 2002-03 season that an ECU team has advanced to a conference tournament.  The Tigers first game is Thursday, March 6, with the remaining teams in the tournament heading to local schools to visit with elementary kids, Friday, March 7.

Moving to the Top
For the first time since the Tigers made the move to NCAA DII, ECU is sitting at the top of its conference standings.  The Tigers made the move up to first after defeating Southern Arkansas and a loss by Southwestern Feb. 6.

Making a Statement
The Tigers had a strong showing against Southwestern Adventist, scoring 122 points.  The number was the most in school history, with the previous high being 117.  It was also the first time since Jan. 7, 2010 that ECU had scored 100+ points in a game when they fell 104-128.

Making Improvements
ECU finished the first portion of the 2013-14 season with a 6-4 record, marking the first time since 2007-08 that the Tigers were above .500 at the holiday break.  They started 2007-08 with a 6-3 mark and finished 14-13 overall.

With the 62-61 overtime win over Southern Nazarene, the Tigers also surpassed their win total from the 2013-14 season, with nine.  ECU also moved to 6-3 in the GAC, one more win in the conference than a season ago.

Winning the Unwinnable Road Trip
The Tigers had a great conference road trip, winning at both Harding and Arkansas Tech.  ECU defeated Harding 93-83 and ATU 94-78.  The wins made the Tigers the first team from the GAC to earn wins at both Harding and ATU in league history.

Lucas Earns GAC Weekly Honors
Junior Brandon Lucas has been named the Great American Conference Player of the Week for Dec. 9 after helping the Tigers earn two big road wins at Harding and Arkansas Tech last weekend.

Lucas led the Tigers to road victories at Harding and ATU as they became the first program in GAC history to pull off that weekend sweep. He averaged 23.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the two contests. He shot 68.2 percent from the floor, going 15-for-22 and 5-for-7 on 3-pointers. He went 8-for-9 in the win at Harding.

Abundant Free Throws
Free throws became a large part of the Tigers win against the Wonder Boys, as both teams combined for 99 free throws in the game.  ECU went 39-of-55 and ATU was 27-of-44 for the game.  The 99 combined free throws set at GAC record.  The old record was 81 set by Arkansas Tech (45) and Southwestern (36), Jan. 12, 2012.

Mitchell Up for Good Works Team
Senior Miles Mitchell was recently named a nominee for the 2014 Allstate Good Works Team. The award recognizes a select group of college basketball student-athletes who have made significant contributions to the greater good of their communities through volunteerism and civic service.  Mitchell was one of 43 nominees for the DII, DIII and NAIA section and the only member of the group from the Great American Conference.  

Making a Difference Off the Court
On the court is not the only place that you can find a member of ECU men's basketball team this season.  Since head coach Ja Havens has taken over the program the Tigers have renewed their commitment to community service.  ECU has been a part of several community service projects since the start of the school year, with an emphasis on youth events.  The Tigers have been to several elementary and middle schools in the area to read with the students and to get to know their younger fans.

Consistent Colby
A coaching change did not stop senior Colby Carr from continuing his consistent performances on the court.  Carr has recorded at least one point and one rebound in all 49 games since he joined the Tigers in 2012-13.  

Starting Out on the Right Path
For the first time since joining the GAC, the Tigers picked up a win in their first conference game of the season when they defeated Ouachita Baptist 81-54.

Tigers Picked to Finish 10th
The Tigers were picked to finish 10th in the Great American Conference in the 2013-14 GAC Preseason Poll as voted on by the league's head coaches.

ECU received 28 points in the poll and were above Southern Arkansas, with 22 points.

Up Next
The final two games of the 2013-14 season will be played in the friendly confines of the Kerr Activities Center.  ECU will face arch rival Southeastern Oklahoma State, Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the annual Black Out Kerr game.  The first 200 fans at the start of the double-header will receive free t-shirts courtesy of Patriot Ford.