Box Score ADA – The East Central University men's basketball team moved back into a tie for first-place in the Great American Conference standings with an 88-82 win over Ouachita Baptist in the Kerr Activities Center.

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The Tigers (11-3, 5-2 GAC) were led by senior Henry Pwono, who tallied 31 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Most of Pwono's points came at the charity stripe, as he went 19-of-21.  Redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves added a career-high 24 points.

The opening 4:30 minutes of the game were a back-and-forth battle resulting in a tie at 11.  The teams then traded runs throughout the half, with ECU pushing its lead out to as many as 11.  OBU kept fighting back and was able to force a 36-all tie, with 1:47 left, on a 14-1 run.  A triple by junior Stirling Thomas with 53 seconds left was the final note in the first half, giving ECU a 39-36 advantage at the break.

Ouachita came out strong at the start of the second half and used an 11-4 run to take a 43-47 lead.  ECU fought back and tied the game at 52 and then took a 57-52 lead, with 11:45 left to play.  OBU cut the advantage to one over the next minute and the teams resumed the battle until 8:30 remained on the clock.  That is when ECU used a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to take the lead for good.

The teams traded runs over the next five minutes and that left ECU with an 81-79 lead, with 1:15 left to play.  ECU buckled down and went on a final 7-3 run over the remaining time to earn the 88-82 victory.

Free throws became the key to the game, as ECU took advantage of the 38 trips to the charity stripe, making 30.  OBU was also held to a 9-of-14 mark for the game.

The Tigers will now hit the road for a two-game Great American Conference series at Harding and Arkansas Tech.  ECU and the Bison will meet Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Searcy, Ark. and then the Tigers will travel to face Arkansas Tech, Saturday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. in Russellville, Ark.