The East Central University will look to stay in first place in the Great American Conference standings this week when they play two of the four final regular-season games.  The Tigers will first travel to face Southern Nazarene, Thursday, Feb. 18 (7:30 p.m.) and then host Northwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Feb. 20 (3 p.m.) in the final game of the year at the Kerr Activities Center.

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.

2016 Regional Rankings
For the first time in the NCAA portion of the Tigers history, ECU has been ranked in the NCAA Central Regional Poll, released Feb. 17.  The Tigers are ranked No. 8 in the first ranking of the season and are the lone team representing the Great American Conference.

Senior Day/Pink Out
Saturday's game will be the annual senior day, where ECU will honor the men's basketball seniors between the men's and women's games.  The game is also a PinkOut sponsored by Mercy Hospital Ada and fans are encouraged to wear pink.

Scouting Southern Nazarene
The Crimson Storm are 11-13 overall and 10-8 in the GAC after winning their rivalry game against Oklahoma Baptist (Feb. 15).  SNU has a -2.5 scoring and +0.4 rebounding margin for the season.  However they are close in overall shooting (.442/.456) and have a lead in three-point shooting (.382 to .346).

CJ Rodriguez is one of three players who are averaging over 10 points per game.  Rodriguez garners 18.0 points and 4.1 boards per game, while adding 74 assists, 26 steaks and a .465 shooting percentage.  LB Willis adds 15.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing and shoots .469 overall and .417 from beyond the arc.

The Series
After the Tigers claimed the last four victories in the all-time series, they have knotted it as 12 games each.  However, the Crimson Storm hold a 2-6 lead when playing at home.

ECU earned a clear 101-75 victory in the first meeting in 2015-16 in Ada.  The Tigers had five players with double-digit point totals, with senior Stirling Thomas leading the team with 25 and junior Ishmael Donzo netting a double-double with 22 points and 13 boards.

SNU had four players reach 10-or-more points in the outing, with CJ Rodriguez leading the way with 13 and Deshon Portley adding 12.

Scouting Northwestern
The Rangers come into the week with a 9-13 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the GAC.  NWOSU trails its opponents with a -1.2 scoring and -3.3 rebounding margin, yet they shoot .440 from the field (allowing a .469 mark).

Adrian Motley is one of three players with a double-digit point average for the season, netting 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.  Zach Dumas adds 11.2 points and T'aries Taylor 10.5.
 
The Series
Despite falling on the road earlier this season, the Tigers hold an 87-53 lead in the all-time series with the Rangers.  ECU also had a clear 17-7 advantage when playing at the Kerr Activities Center.

NWOSU claimed a 66-71 victory on their home court this season.  Junior Braxton Reeves led the Tigers with 20 points and seven rebounds, while senior Stirling Thomas added 11 points.

Adrian Motley led a group of four Ranger players with double-digit point tallies.  Motley earned a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

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
The Tigers hit the road for the final week of the regular season, making stops in Searcy, Ark. to face Harding (Feb. 25) and Russellville, Ark., to battle with Arkansas Tech (Feb. 27).