WEATHERFORD, OKLA. – In a game against the defending NCAA DII National Champions, the East Central University men's basketball team dropped a tight, 61-67, decision to No. 18 Augustana in the Midwest Region Classic hosted at Southwestern Oklahoma State.

The Tigers (0-2) were led by senior Braxton Reeves, who tallied 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.  Senior Ben Brown-White paced the team with 10 rebounds, while adding six points and a steal.

The Vikings (2-0) started the game on a strong note, taking a 6-15 advantage in the first seven minutes.  ECU slowly fought back over the next nine minutes to tie the game at 21, with 4:29 left in the half.  The teams then traded points the rest of the way through the stanza.  The Tigers were able to take their first lead of the game, with 35 seconds left, and take an 31-29 lead into the intermission.

ECU held the lead around four points at the start of the second half.  However, the Vikings pushed back and tied the game at 40, with 13:06 remaining.  The back-and-forth battle continued for the next three minutes until Augustana started a 7-0 run over the next two minutes for a 45-52 advantage.

The game remained close that resulted in another tie at 56, with 4:17 remaining.  However, the Vikings countered with a final key run (7-0) to take the lead for good, with 1:30 remaining.  ECU kept the disadvantage between four to six points the rest of the game, but eventually fell 61-67.

The key difference in the game came outside the arc, with ECU netting six triples and the Vikings 12.  The Tigers were also out-paced with a 33.9 percent (21-62) shooting percentage to a 46.2 percent (24-52) mark by Augustana.

ECU will remain on the road next weekend when they open Great American Conference action.  The Tigers will travel to Arkansas to face Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello over the weekend.  ECU will first face Southern Arkansas, Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and then Arkansas-Monticello, Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m.