ARKADELPHIA, ARK. – The East Central University men's basketball team claimed its fourth-straight victory, with a 79-74 win over Ouachita Baptist in Great American Conference action.

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The Tigers (5-2, 3-1 GAC) were led by senior Stirling Thomas, who tallied 27 points and three rebounds.  Junior Braxton Reeves added 13 points and four boards, while senior Aly Hudgins contributed 10 points and three rebounds.

ECU came out ready to play and scored the first seven points of the half before allowing OBU to counter with a 5-0 run of its own in the first three minutes.  The teams were then knotted at 15, with 11:30 to play.  The score remained close for the next 11 minutes, when a few three-point plays gave Ouachita an advantage.

OBU kept the lead in their favor for the rest of the half and had built it to six (31-37) with two minutes left to play.  However, the Tigers were not done fighting, as they cut the lead to one over the next minute and went into the locker room trialing, 38-41.

The second half started out slow for ECU, with Ouachita extending its lead to six in the first two minutes. The Tigers kept things close over the next four minutes, but it was a 10-0 run over a six-minute span that gave ECU a 61-56 advantage.

OBU countered with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 61 and then again at 63. The Tigers then pulled ahead by five and again Ouachita forced a tie, this time at 68 with 4:25 to play.  The teams traded points for the next minute, with OBU having a 70-71 advantage. That is when ECU heated up again and went on a 7-0 run until 39 seconds remained to lead 77-71.

Ouachita then scored the next three points at the charity stripe to cut the deficit to three (77-74).  However, junior Donovan Halsel hit both his free throws with 12.6 seconds left to secure the 79-74 win.

The close game was reflected on the box score, with the key difference coming in overall shooting percentage where ECU lead 45.6 (26-of-57) to 36.7 (22-of-6) percent.

ECU will now get over a week off before traveling to Texas A&M-Commerce, Monday, Dec. 14 for a 7:30 p.m. tip.