Box Score ADA – The East Central University men's basketball team out-scored Southeastern Oklahoma State 45-27 in the second half to earn a 74-60 victory in the final game of the first half of Great American Conference action in a raucous Kerr Activities Center.

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The Tigers (13-5, 7-3 GAC) were paced by senior Henry Pwono, who earned his fifth double-double of the season on 22 points and 14 rebounds.  Pwono also added four assists.  Junior Stirling Thomas added 21 points and redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves got hot beyond the arc early in the first half and added 19 points.

The Savage Storm (8-10, 4-6 GAC) pulled out to the early 6-11 lead in the first 6:30 of the game.  However, ECU countered with a 6-0 run to take a quick 12-11 lead of their own a minute later.  The teams continued to trade baskets for the next three minutes and were knotted at 19, with 9:42 left on the clock.

That is when the Tigers put together an 8-2 run to take a 27-21 advantage.  However, SEOSU wasn't done fighting and went on a 12-2 run in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 29-33 lead into the locker room.

The Savage Storm continued to push the tempo in the first two minutes of the second half and had increased the lead to eight (31-39).  However, ECU then took over and used a 16-4 run over the next eight minutes to regain the advantage (47-43) for the rest of the game. 

The Tigers kept the pressure up the rest of the half and increased the lead to 10 (59-49), with six minutes remaining.  SEOSU tried to fight back and used a 4-0 run over the next minute to cut the deficit to six, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the game.  ECU fired back and pushed the lead back out to as many as 14 on the way to the 74-60 victory.

While the Tigers were held without a free-throw attempt in the first half, they became key to the win in the second half.  ECU was sent to the line 22 times and made 17 of those shots, while only allowing SEOSU to go 7-of-9 for the entire game.

The Tigers will now get ready for the second half the GAC season, which starts Saturday, Jan. 24 when Northwestern Oklahoma State is welcomed to the Kerr Activities Center for a 3 p.m. tip.