The East Central University men's basketball team is heading into the final week of the first half of the Great American Conference season with games against Southern Nazarene and Northwestern Oklahoma State.  The Tigers will first host SNU, Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. and then travel to Alva, Okla., Saturday, Jan. 23 for a 3 p.m. game.

Game Notes

The Broadcast
ECU's radio home for Tigers basketball in 2015-16 is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Kenny Morrison returns to broadcast the games for his 19th 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 are 7-8 overall and 6-3 in the GAC after winning their last three games.  The close record has resulted in a -1.1 scoring and 2.1 rebounding margin for the year.  SNU is shooting .449 from the floor to a .460 mark from its opponents.

The Crimson Storm have three players who are averaging over 10 points per game, with CJ Rodriguez leading the team with 19.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.  He is shooting .479 (78-of-163) from the floor and .481 (51-of-106) from beyond the arc and adding 48 assists.  LB Willis is contributing 16.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Deshon Portley nets 10.6 points.

The Series
The all-time series with SNU dates back to 1972-73, but there was a large gap between 1997-98 and 20012-13.  The Tigers currently trail the Crimson Storm 11-12 overall, but have won the last three meetings.  ECU also holds a 5-3 lead at home and a 4-3 lead when playing as GAC opponents

Scouting Northwestern
The Rangers have struggled early this season, with a 3-10 overall record and a 3-6 mark in the conference.  NWOSU has a -5.8 scoring and -1.8 rebounding margin for the year, but they are shooting .437 overall and .325 from three-point range.

NWOSU does have three players that are averaging over 10 points per game.  Adrian  Motley is at the top of the list with 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while shooting .433.  Zach Dumas is garnering 11.8 points and T'aries Taylor 11.2 per game.
 
The Series
The all-time series with the Rangers also includes a large gap after ECU joined the NCAA and NWOSU came in during the 2012-13 season, but dates all the way back to 1927-28.  The Tigers hold an 87-52 advantage in the series, but trail 10-15 when playing in Alva.

Donzo's Career Weekend
Junior Ishmael Donzo made a mark for ECU in the games against Harding and Arkansas Tech.  The Austin, Texas native tallied career bests of 21 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, eight field goals and five free throws against the Bisons and added a career-high of one steal and five free throws against the Wonder Boys.

Reeves Player of the Week
Junior Braxton Reeves was named the GAC Player of the Week for Jan. 4 after helping the Tigers to a 91-87 win over Missouri-St. Louis last Saturday.

The Fort Worth, Texas, native scored a career-high 28 points against the Tritons. Reeves went 9-of-14 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the 3-point arc. He added a season-high five assists and two steals, along with four rebounds. He also finished the victory as one of two Tigers in the game (Stirling Thomas) with 28 points and four rebounds.

Nearly a Triple-Double Day
Senior Deron Hill had a strong overall game for the Tigers against Southwestern Adventist, just barely missing a triple-double, with career highs of 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Thomas Repeats at Player of the Week
Senior Stirling Thomas was named the GAC Player of the Week for Dec. 7.  This was the second honor for Thomas this season, after earning the award in the first week of the season.

Thomas he averaged 30.0 points per game in wins against Henderson State and Ouachita. The Elgin, Okla., native made 12-of-18 shots, with four 3-pointers against the Reddies and followed up with 27 points against OBU, last season's GAC regular-season champion.

The win against Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Ark., was the first time since Feb. 22, 2014 that OBU had given up a win at home.  That streak includes a perfect 13-0 mark at home in 2014-15 and ended at 15 games.

Up Next
The Tigers will start the second half of the GAC season on the road, heading to Southern Arkansas (Jan. 28) and Arkansas-Monticello (Jan. 30).