ADA – With its fourth-straight victory, the East Central University men's basketball team moved into a three-way tie for first place in the Great American Conference standings, with an 89-64 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State at the Kerr Activities Center.
Photo GalleryThe Tigers (16-6, 12-4 GAC) were paced by junior
Braxton Reeves, who tallied a career-high 31 points. Junior
Ishmael Donzo added his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 boards, while sophomore
Brett Cannon tallied 13 points and senior
Deron Hill netted 10.
The teams traded the first four points of the game before ECU went on a 5-0 run to push ahead 9-4, with 16:12 left to play. The Tigers kept the advantage in their favor and then pushed out to a double-digit lead, with 12:18 on the clock.
ECU increased the advantage to 14 (26-12) after the first 10 minutes of the half, but then saw the Bulldogs (13-9, 9-7 GAC) fight back with a 9-2 run over the next two minutes. The Tigers kept the advantage between seven to nine points until a 7-0 run by SWOSU cut the lead to two (32-30), with 5:47 left on the clock.
The Tigers countered with a 12-0 run in the next three minutes and despite the Bulldogs scoring the final four points of the half, went into the locker room leading 44-34.
The teams traded 5-0 runs in the first three minutes of the second half and then traded points over the next three minutes. SWOSU battled back to cut the deficit to eight (58-50), with 12:13 to play. That is when the Tigers took control for good, using a 16-0 run over the next six minutes to lead 74-50.
The Bulldogs countered with a 10-1 run in the next two minutes, but a 7-0 run by ECU pushed the lead back to 12 (82-60) in the final three minutes. The Tigers ended the game on a 14-4 run to claim the 89-64 victory.
ECU earned clear advantages across the box score, including a 50 percent to 38.5 percent lead in overall shooting percentage.
The Tigers now start a three-game road trip, Saturday, Feb. 13 at Oklahoma Baptist at 3 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla.
