The East Central University men's basketball team will be battling for seeding now at the Great American Conference tournament, as they earned their second-straight bid into the tournament.  The Tigers will look to stay in second place in the GAC standings this week when they host Arkansas Tech, Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and then Harding (currently tied for second), Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. in the Kerr Activities Center.

Game Notes

The Broadcast
ECU's radio home for Tigers basketball in 2014-15 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.

Pink Out
The Tigers will be hosting the annual PinkOut Game, Thursday, Feb. 19 to help promote breast cancer awareness.

Scouting Arkansas Tech
The Wonder Boys come into this week's games with a 12-12 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the GAC after winning their last three games.  The balanced record is reflected in the season box score, as they have a +0.0 scoring margin and a +0.1 rebounding margin for the season.  The area where they have the biggest advantage is in three-point field goal percentage at .367 to. .312.

ATU has one player in double digits in the scoring column, with four more around eight or nine points per game.  Mike Balgun leads the team with 14.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.  Clarence Willard adds 9.5 points and 4.1 boards per game, with also netting 76 assists.

Against the Wonder Boys
Earlier this season the Tigers claimed a 70-68 last-second victory over ATU in Russellville, Ark.

Junior Deron Hill had a career game for ECU, with 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists.  Sophomore Aly Hudgins added 14 points and five boards, while junior Stirling Thomas netted 14 points and redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves added 12 points.

Mike Balogun was the top producer for the Wonder Boys, with 23 points.  Nick Wayman added 10 points and eight boards, while Clarence Willard contributed 12 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

The Series
Thursday's game will unknot the all-time series, which currently stands tied at 11.  The Tigers will be looking to break a two-game home losing streak to ATU and even the record at Kerr that is currently at 5-6.

Scouting Harding
The Bison are 12-10 overall and tied for second in the GAC standings with the Tigers at 10-6 after dropping their last outing.  Harding will have a chance to get back in the win column before facing ECU, as they battle Southern Nazarene Thursday.  The Bison have put together a +5.6 scoring and -0.8 rebounding margin for the season and have strong shooting percentages.  Harding makes 47.9 percent of their overall shots and 39.6 percent of the triples attempted, making 10.7 per game.

The Bison have two players that are averaging over 10 points per game in Andraz Kavas and Blake McNair.  Kavas nets 19.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, with shooting .533 from the field.  McNair adds 13.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Against the Bison
In the battle in Searcy, Ark., earlier this season the Tigers fell to Harding 80-87 in a game where free throws were key.

Junior Stirling Thomas had a standout performance, with 35 points that included an 8-of-16 mark from beyond the arc.  Redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves added 16 points.

Andraz Kavas led the Bison with 21 points and seven boards, while Will Francis added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Series
Harding currently owns a slight 8-9 advantage in the all-time series after the win earlier in 2014-15.  However, the Tigers are 5-2 when playing at home.

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 Pittsburgh, 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.

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.

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
The final weekend of GAC regular-season action will feature home and away games for the Tigers.  ECU will first travel to face arch rival Southeastern Oklahoma State, Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Durant, Okla.

Up Next at Kerr Activities Center
ECU will wrap up the regular season at home against Southern Nazarene in a rare night Saturday game.  The Tigers will face the Crimson Storm at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28 on the annual Senior Night.