ADA – The East Central University men's basketball team picked up its third-straight and the first Great American Conference win of the 2016-17 season, defeating Henderson State 76-71 at the Kerr Activities Center.
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The Tigers (3-4, 1-2 GAC) were paced by seniors
Ishmael Donzo,
Donovan Halsel and
Braxton Reeves. Donzo netted his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while also adding two blocks. Halsel and Reeves each tallied 15 points and three rebounds, with Reeves adding five assists, four steals and two blocks.
The Reddies (4-2, 2-1 GAC) started out with a 6-0 run before the Tigers got on the scoreboard with 17:28 left in the first half. HSU held the lead until ECU tied the game at 12 (13:12). The teams then traded points for the next three minutes. That is when the Tigers made a push to take the lead for the rest of the half, using a 9-2 run to push the lead to seven (26-19), with 7:21 left.
ECU held the advantage between three to seven points until the final minute of the stanza. The Reddies went on a small run to tie the game at 33, with 31 seconds remaining. The Tigers were then able to make the last shot of the period to take a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
ECU came out firing in the second half and built the lead out to double-digits in the first five minutes. The lead remained over 10 until the final three minutes, when HSU was able to cut the deficit to six (69-63). The Tigers kept fighting and despite a final push from the Reddies to cut the advantage to three, with six seconds left, held on for the 76-71 victory.
The Tigers shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field and held a key advantage from beyond the arch, hitting 7-of-19 shots and allowing just a 3-of-16 mark by HSU. ECU also out-rebounded HSU 43-34, with the biggest lead on the offensive glass (17-10).
The Tigers will next host Ouachita Baptist, Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. at the Kerr Activities Center. It will be the second of four-straight home games for ECU before the end of the 2016 portion of the season.