The East Central University men's basketball team will open the second half of the Great American Conference season at Southern Arkansas (Jan. 28/7:30 p.m.) and Arkansas-Monticello (Jan. 30/3 p.m.).

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 Arkansas
The Muleriders are 9-8 overall and 6-5 in the conference after losing a make-up game Monday against Harding.  SAU has a +1.5 scoring a -4.9 rebounding margin for the year.  The Muleriders also hold a .464 to .438 lead in overall shooting percentage, but that advantage goes away beyond the arc (.336/.349).

SAU has a balanced team effort, with five players averaging over 10 points per game.  Jaron Davis leads the team with 15.4 points and 3.9 boards per game.  He shoots .368 overall and adds 79 assists.  Deon Andrews is next on the list with 11.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while shooting .478 overall and .400 from three-point range.

The Series
After falling to SAU in the first meeting this season (70-85), the Tigers are still leading 12-8 in the overall series.  The teams have both won two games in Magnolia, Ark.

In the last meeting, senior Stirling Thomas led the team with 15 points, while Deron Hill contributed 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.  The Muleriders were led by Jaron Davis (26 points) and Deon Andrews (16 points).

Scouting Arkansas-Monticello
The Boll Weevils are 6-11 overall and 4-7 in the GAC after losing to Ouachita Baptist in a make-up game Monday (Jan. 25).  UAM has a -0.8 scoring and -4.5 rebounding margin for the season and trail .444 to .477 in overall shooting.  However, beyond the arc the Boll Weevils lead .389 to .327 and make two more shots per game.

UAM has four players in double digits in the scoring column, with Richard Benedyth leading the team with 14.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, a .401 overall shooting percentage, .362 percentage from beyond the arc, 52 assists and 20 steals.  Jamal Peterson is next on the list with 14.4 points per game.
 
The Series
The Tigers trail in the all-time series 3-6 against the Boll Weevils after winning the last meeting in Ada.  While ECU earned an 84-81 victory in the last meeting in Monticello, the Tigers have a 1-3 record on the road.

In the first meeting this season, ECU had four players with over 10 points, with junior Aly Hudgins leading the team with 17 points and nine rebounds.  Junior Braxton Reeves added 18 points and six boards.

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
After the weekend's road games, the Tigers will return home for three of the final four home games of the year.  ECU will host Henderson State (Feb. 4), Ouachita Baptist (Feb. 6) and Southwestern (Feb. 11).