The East Central University men's basketball returns to the court after a week off when they travel to battle with Southwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. in the Pioneer Cellular Event 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 18th 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 Southwestern
The Bulldogs are 10-7 overall and 4-6 in the Great American Conference standings and will face Southern Nazarene, Thursday before hosting the Tigers.  The Bulldogs currently hold a slight 1.4 scoring and 1.1 rebounding margin for the season, but trail their opponents .396 to .419 in overall shooting percentage.

SWOSU has three players that are averaging double-digits in the point's column and account for 59 percent of the scoring, 63 percent of the shots attempted, 76 percent of the three's taken and 40 percent of the rebounds.  Martell Collins leads the group with 17.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.  Collins is shooting .412 from the field and .348 from beyond the arc, while adding 24 assists, 20 steals and 10 blocks.  Trent Washington adds 11.1 points per game and Kenyan Borders contributes 10.6 points per outing.

Against the Bulldogs
Earlier this season, the Tigers fell in the final seconds at home to the Bulldogs (57-58).  The game was close across the box score, with SWOSU making two more field goals and ECU earning three more free throws.

Junior Stirling Thomas led the Tigers with 19 points, while senior Henry Pwono added 10 points and eight boards and senior Brandon Lucas tallied nine points.

Trent Washington was the top producer for the Bulldogs, with 19 points.  Emeche Wells and Kenyan Borders both added 11 points and four rebounds.

The Series
While ECU currently holds a 94-82 lead in the all-time series with SWOSU, the Bulldogs have been the victors in the last three games.  Since joining the NCAA ranks, the Tigers have gone 16-22 against SWOSU and are trailing 14-25 in the series when played in Weatherford.

Braxton Player of the Week
Redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves has picked up his first GAC honor, as he was named the GAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 26.  Reeves helped the Tigers move into a first-place tie as he averaged 20.5 points in wins against Southeastern Oklahoma State and Northwestern Oklahoma State. Against the Savage Storm, he scored 19 points and hit five three-point field goals. Against the Rangers, he scored 22 points with five more three-point field goals. He added three steals.

Hill Highlights Off the Bench
Junior Deron Hill came off the bench against Arkansas Tech and gave the Tigers the need spark they needed to earn the road victory.  The Kansas City, Kan., native tallied a career high 15 points, six rebounds, and dished out a career-best seven assists against the Wonder Boys.

Henry Making the Most of Freebies
Senior Henry Pwono had a strong showing for the Tigers against Ouachita Baptist, with 31 points and 19 of those coming at the charity stripe.  The Pittsburg, Pa., native set a school record for the most free throws made in a single game (19) and tied the record for free-throw attempts in a single game (21).  Those numbers helped bump him to No. 4 in the NCAA for free throws attempted (138) and No. 7 in free throws made (103).

Hudgins Big Day
Sophomore Aly Hudgins got a chance to show what he is capable of adding to the Tigers team in the game at Southern Nazarene (Jan. 3).  Hudgins tallied a career-best 14 points, going 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.  He also added three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Thomas Player of the Week
ECU junior Stirling Thomas has picked up his first honor of the 2014-15 season, as he was named the Great American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 24.  Thomas tallied 22 points and five assists against Arkansas-Monticello. Two days later, he scored 36 points and added seven steals vs Henderson State. His .875 (7-of-8) mark from behind the arc tied a school record for three-point field-goal percentage in a game and he was one steal away from tying the school record for steals in a game.

Revealing Reeves
Redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves might not have played in the 2013-14 season, but he has stepped right back into his game in 2014-15.  Against Arkansas-Monticello, Reeves tallied a career-best 22 points, while shooting 9-of-14 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Pwono Player of the Week
After finishing the 2013-14 season as the GAC Player of the Week, senior Henry Pwono has become the first GAC Player of the Week for the 2014-15 season.  At the GAC/Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Challenge, Pwono averaged 20.5 points and 11 rebounds. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the victory against Wayne State College. He converted on 14-of-18 from the floor, including an 11-of-14 performance against the Wildcats.

Solid Stirling
Junior Stirling Thomas proved that he was a good addition to the Tigers squad as he came out and averaged 21.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in the first two outings of the 2014-15 season.  Thomas shot .441 (15-of-34) from the field, .455 (5-of-11) from beyond the arc and .889 (8-of-9) from the charity stripe, while adding four assists and four steals.

Turning Out for the Exhibition
The Tigers had a strong showing at their exhibition game at Oral Roberts, falling by just seven points (68-75).  ECU led for most of the game and took a 38-33 lead into the locker room at the half.  The Tigers were led by junior Stirling Thomas, with 25 points and five rebounds, while senior Henry Pwono tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds.  The duo were two of four players with double-digit point totals, with redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves adding 15 and senior Brandon Lucas 10.

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.  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 already this 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.

Up Next at Kerr Activities Center
The Tigers will return home to play the next two games in Ada.  ECU will host Henderson State, Saturday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m..  The game is Mercy Game Day and Roary's Kids Club Day, with give-a-ways from Mercy Hospital.  The Tigers will then battle Arkansas-Monticello, Saturday, Feb. 7 at 3 p.m.