ARKADELPHIA, ARK. – The East Central University men's basketball team earned a 68-64 win over Henderson State in Great American Conference action at the Duke Wells Center.

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The Tigers (4-2, 2-1 GAC) were led by senior Stirling Thomas, who had his second-straight game with 30-plus points.  Thomas tallied 33, while adding two rebounds and three assists.  Junior Braxton Reeves added 12 points, while junior Deron Hill led ECU with eight rebounds and contributed seven points.

The game started a little slow, with no team scoring in the first minute, but when the Reddies (0-6, 0-3 GAC) got started the pushed out to a 2-7 advantage in the first three minutes.  ECU countered and tied the game at seven a minute later and then both teams went cold again for the next two minutes. 

The game remained close, with the Tigers holding a slight lead until the half-way point of the stanza when ECU used a 13-1 run over a four minute span to take a 27-16 lead.  The Tigers kept the advantage and built it to 11, with five minutes left to play.  HSU then mounted a comeback and in the final minutes of the half used a 7-3 run to cut the deficit to 33-26.

The second half turned into a true battle, as the Reddies fought through the first 12 minutes to tie the game at 49.  The game then became a back-and-forth battle, with five more tie scores over the next six minutes.

With just under seven minutes left to play, the Tigers took control of the game, using a 6-0 run to push out to a 65-59 lead, with 2:40 left on the clock.  HSU countered with a 5-0 run over the next 1:30 to get within one (65-64), but ECU scored the final three points in the game to earn the 68-64 victory.

The game was tight all across the box score, with both teams making 25 shots, and the Tigers earning the win with an eight to six advantage in triples and a 10 to eight lead in free throws.

ECU will remain in Arkadelphia, Ark., until they face Ouachita Baptist, Saturday, Dec. 5 at 3 p.m.