The East Central University men's basketball team will continue its 2013-14 season at the Great American Conference Tournament, March 6-9 at Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Okla.  The No. 4 Tigers will first face No. 5 Harding, Thursday, March 6 at 8 p.m.  A win would put ECU into the semifinal game, Saturday, March 8 at 2:15 p.m.

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 Harding
The Bisons finished the regular-season with a 12-14 overall record and a 9-11 mark in the GAC after dropping their last five games.

Harding started out the season with a full roster, but now has just eight active players on the roster.  The teams has battled to a +2.7 scoring and a +0.8 rebounding margin for the season.  The Bisons are close to their opponents in overall shooting percentages (.440 to .459), but are averaging 10.3 made triples to 7.7 per game, while taking over 200 more three-point attempts this season.

Harding has three players that are averaging double-digit point totals in Hayden Johnson, Jacob Gibson and Will Francis.  Johnson leads the team with 17.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting .558 from the field.  Gibson adds 15.1 points and 4.3 boards and Francis contributes 11.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Against the Bisons
In 2013-14, the Tigers earned a regular-season sweep of Harding, by an average of 7.5 points per game.

ECU had four players average double-digits in the point's column, with junior Brandon Lucas leading the team with 17 points and four rebounds per game.  Senior Colby Carr added 13 points and 5.5 boards per outing.

Jacob Gibson and Will Francis lead the Bisons players that are still active on the roster.  Gibson averaged 18 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, while Francis added 12 points and four boards.

The Series
After earning the two wins this season, the Tigers have taken a 9-7 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1994-95 season.  The Bisons had one the previous four games.

Against the Tournament Field in 2013-14
A win Thursday would pit the Tigers against the winner of No. 1 Arkansas Tech and No. 8 Southeastern Oklahoma State at 2:15 p.m., Saturday, March 8.  ECU went 1-1 against the Wonder Boys this season and 2-0 against the Savage Storm.  

The Tigers have a 0-2 mark against No. 2 Southwestern Oklahoma State, 1-1 record against No. 3 Arkansas-Monticello, an 0-2 record against No. 6 Henderson State and a 2-0 mark against No. 7 Southern Arkansas.

All-GAC Honors
The Tigers saw two players earn All-GAC honors, with senior Colby Carr earning a spot on the All-GAC Second Team and junior Brandon Lucas landing on the All-GAC Honorable Mention squad.

Carr averaged a team-high 13.7 points per game, with added 4.3 rebounds per game.  He also added 68 assists and 29 steals, while shooting .435 from the field.

Lucas was second on the team with 11.7 points and added 4.6 boards per outing.  He shot .420 from the floor and added 23 assists and 16 steals.

Career Weekend for Pwono
Senior Henry Pwono had two of the best games of his career against Southeastern (Feb. 27) and Arkansas Tech (March 1) and was named GAC Player of the Week for his efforts.  The Pittsburgh, Pa., native tallied career highs of 36 points and 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season against the Savage Storm.  He then added 28 points and eight boards against the Wonder Boys.

First in the GAC Tournament
The Tigers went 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.  

This is the first time since the 2002-03 season that an ECU team has advanced to a conference tournament.  

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.

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.

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.

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 51 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.