BARTLESVILLE, OKLA. – On the back of a scorching second half, the East Central University men's basketball team earned its first trip to the NCAA DII Central Regional, defeating Arkansas-Monticello 82-67 in the Great American Conference Championship game.

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NCAA Tournament Central

The Tigers (24-7) out-scored the Boll Weevils (23-6) 51-30 in the second half, overcoming a 31-37 deficit at the half.  The men's basketball team becomes the third sport at ECU to earn a trip to the NCAA national championship tournament, following men's cross country and softball.

The Tigers will now get the week to get ready for the NCAA DII Central Regional, March 11-14 in Maryville, Mo.  ECU earned the No. 3 seed in the region and will face No. 6 Minnesota State Moorehead in the opening round on the campus of Northwest Missouri State, the No. 1 overall seed.

ECU was led in scoring by senior Braxton Reeves, who was named the 2017 GAC All-Tournament MVP, with 21 points, four assists, two rebounds, a block and a steal.  Senior Ishmael Donzo recorded his 14^th career double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while adding three blocks, two assists and a steal.

Senior Aly Hudgins also had a strong showing, with a season-best 15 points, while junior Brett Cannon added 14 points.

Canon and senior KD Moore were also named to the GAC All-Tournament team for their performances over the tournament.

The Boll Weevils got off to a strong start, holding ECU without a point for the first two minutes, while garnering six of their own.  The Tigers turned things around quickly and within the next two minutes had tied the game at 11.

UAM was the next team to push ahead, building the lead out to 11 (20-31), with 6:30 left on the clock.  ECU fought back with an 11-3 run until the final minute of action to cut the lead to three (31-34).  However, the Boll Weevils made three late free throws for a 31-37 lead at the intermission.

The Tigers came out of the break ready to fight and were able to tie the game at 42 in the first five minutes, with an 11-5 run.  During the span, the ECU defense picked up and from 17:17 to 9:45 remaining, held UAM without a field goal, while going on a 25-2 run.

The Tigers ended up shooting 52.7 percent for the game, but improved a 37.9 mark in the first half to 69.2 in the second.  ECU also shot 50 percent from three-point range (9-of-18).  The Tigers defense held UAM to a 44.8 percentage overall and just a 25.0 percent (2-of-8) mark from beyond the arc.