The final week of the 2015-16 regular season is a big one for the East Central University men's basketball team, as they are playing for their first Great American Conference regular-season title.  The Tigers, who are currently in first, are one game ahead of Ouachita Baptist and Harding, with two games left.  ECU will face Harding, Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Searcy, Ark., with a Tiger win meaning at least a share of the title.  ECU will then play Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. at Arkansas Tech.

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.

Holding All the Cards
The Tigers are holding their destiny in their own hands this weekend.  A win Thursday would clinch at least a share of the 2016 GAC regular-season title, with a loss by Ouachita wrapping up the title outright for ECU.  The win would also secure the No. 1 overall seed in the 2016 GAC Championship Tournament, March 3-6 in Bartlesville, Okla.

20-Win Seasons
With the win over Northwestern, the Tigers recorded their 20th win of the year, marking the second-straight season with 20-or-more wins.  This is just the third time in school history for a group of ECU teams to accomplish the feat.  From 1995-96 to 1997-98, the Tigers record three 20-win seasons.  ECU also had three-straight seasons with 20-or-more wins from 1948-49 to 1950-51.

Scouting Harding
The Bisons are currently 16-9 overall and 15-5 in the GAC, good for a tie for second with Ouachita.  Harding is known to be a strong team at home, with this year's record standing at 8-2.  While the Bisons has a strong record and a +7.4 scoring margin, they hold a -2.0 rebounding margin. The biggest advantage for Harding is beyond the arc where they shoot 39.8 percent to 30.0 by its opponents and make 10.6 per game to 6.6.

The Bisons have five players that are currently averaging over 10 points per game.  Jacob Gibson leads the group with 16.3 points and 4.9 rebound per game, while shooting .456.  Will Francis and Blake McNair each add around 13 points per game, with Francis shooting .502 and adding 110 assists.

The Series
Despite an overtime loss earlier this season to Harding, the Tigers hold an 11-10 lead in the all-time series.  Like most teams the Tigers have done better at home, with just a 3-6 record when playing in Searcy.

The game at the Kerr Activities Center this season was a tight battle, with both teams shooting over 45 percent from the floor.  The big difference came from beyond the arc, where Harding earned a 7-13 advantage.

The Tigers were led by junior Braxton Reeves, with 26 points. Junior Ishmael Donzo added 21 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, while senior Stirling Thomas netted 13 points, five boards and seven assists.

The Bisons were paced by a group of four players with double-digit point totals.  Reggie Anthony tallied 25, Jacob Gibson 20, Will Francis 17 and Blake McNair 16.

Scouting Arkansas Tech
The Wonder Boys are 15-11 overall and 10-10 in the GAC.  ATU struggled in the middle of the season, but have won four of the last five games and they have an 8-5 record at home.  The Wonder Boys have a +1.5 scoring and +4.7 rebounding margin on the year and are shooting 45.4 percent from the field.

ATU has two current players on the roster that are averaging over 10 points per game.  Tyler Corley is the top producer with 14.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, while shooting .449 from the field and adding 60 assists and 27 steals.  Andrew Guillory adds 12.5 points and 5.2 boards per game, with a .481 shooting percentage, 53 assists and 24 steals.
 
The Series
The series with the Wonder Boys is currently sitting at 11-14 in favor of ATU, but the Tigers picked up an 86-76 win earlier this season at home.  The biggest advantage in the game for ECU came at the charity stripe, going 25-of-28 to a 10-of-18 mark by the Wonder Boys.

Junior Ben Brown-White has one of his best games this season against ATU, with 19 points and nine rebounds.  Senior Stirling Thomas added 14 points and four assists, while junior Ishmael Donzo netted 13 points and seven rebounds.

ATU was led by Marquis Yates, with 26 points, but he is no longer on the team.  Tyler Corley added 18 points and three assists.

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.