For the second-straight season, the East Central University men's basketball team has earned a spot in the Great American Conference Tournament.  The Tigers finished as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the highest seed they have had since joining the NCAA ranks.  ECU will have a rematch of the final regular-season game of the 2014-15 season, as they take on No. 7 Southern Nazarene, Friday, March 6 at 2:15 p.m. at Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Okla.

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.

Scouting Southern Nazarene
The Crimson Storm is 13-13 overall and finished 9-11 in the GAC. The Crimson Storm have kept things close in all areas of the box score, including a -0.7 scoring and -2.5 rebounding margin for the year.

SNU has three players that are averaging double-digits in the point's column, with LB Willis leading the way with 14.0 points and 5.3 boards per game.  Francisco Hukill adds 11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.  The final member of the group is CJ Rodriguez, with 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Against the Crimson Storm
The Tigers went 2-0 in the regular-season meetings with SNU in 2014-15 and earned the wins by an average of 5.5 points.  Both teams did not have problems scoring in the series, with ECU holding a .523 to .452 advantage in overall shooting percentage.

The Tigers had three players that averaged double-digits in the point's column against the Crimson Storm, with senior Henry Pwono leading the way with 18.0 points a and 7.0 rebounds per game.  Junior Stirling Thomas added 16.5 points, while redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves contributed 16.5 points per game.

SNU saw several players with double-digit point totals, with LB Willis and CJ Rodriguez leading the charge.  Willis garnered 15.5 points and 4.0 boards per game, while Rodriguez added 13.5 points and six rebounds per game.

The Series
The all-time series with the Crimson Storm dates back to the 1972-73 season, with ECU trailing 9-12 despite winning the last two games.  The series has only be contested on a neutral court twice, with each team earning a win.  The Tigers claimed the win in the last neutral court game, Dec. 14, 1990 (83-70).

Making the Grade
For the first time since joining the GAC, the Tigers had a player earn All-GAC First Team honors and had a total of three earn recognition.  Junior Stirling Thomas was a unanimous All-GAC First Team selection after leading ECU and the GAC in scoring most of the season.

Senior Henry Pwono became just the second player to earn All-GAC Second Team honors and redshirt sophomore Braxton Reeves was named to the All-GAC Honorable Mention team.

Turning Things Around
Since head coach Ja Havens took over the Tigers program, ECU has made a major turn round, going from an 8-18 overall record in 2012-13 to the first winning season since 2007-08 with a 15-12 mark in 2013-14.  The Tigers have improved even more on that mark so far in 2014-15 with a 19-9 record.  The 19 wins tie the most regular-season wins since becoming an NCAA team, as ECU went 19-8 in 1999-2000.  The Tigers finished the 1997-98 season with a 20-9 record, after going 2-1 in post-season play (18-8 regular-season).

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.