ADA – The East Central University men's basketball team won its fifth-straight game with a 101-75 victory over Southern Nazarene in Great American Conference action at the Kerr Activities Center.

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The Tigers (12-4, 9-2 GAC) saw two players record double-doubles on the night.  Junior Ishmael Donzo earned his team-leading third, with a career-best 22 points and 13 rebounds.  Senior Deron Hill claimed his second of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while adding six assists.  Senior Stirling Thomas was the leader in the scoring column, with 25 points.

The game was close at the beginning, with the Crimson Storm (7-9, 6-4 GAC) taking an early lead.  After the first five minutes ECU was trailing by one (11-21) when they started a 10-0 run to gain the lead over the next three minutes.  SNU countered with a 10-3 run of its own to cut the deficit to three (25-22), with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.

The teams then traded 6-0 runs over the next few minutes, but it was a 15-2 run by ECU, until 3:16 was left to play in the stanza, that gave the Tigers a clear 46-30 advantage.  The teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the half and ECU went into the locker room with a 52-36 lead.

The second half saw the Tigers go on a 4-0 run to push the lead to 20 in the first 1:30.  ECU kept the advantage around 20 points over the next eight minutes. 

The Crimson Storm tried to mount a come-back and were able to cut the deficit to 13 (70-57), with an 8-0 run.  However, the Tigers pushed the advantage back to 20 over the next five minutes and kept up the pressure, leading by as many as 28 points on the way to the 101-75 victory.

Both teams shot over 40 percent from the field, but it was ECU's 10-6 advantage from beyond the arc and 23-of-27 to 15-of-25 lead at the free-throw line that sealed the game.

The Tigers will now take their winning streak on the road, as they wrap up the first half of the GAC season at Northwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m.  The game is the first of three-straight road games for ECU before coming home again Feb. 4.