RUSSELLVILLE, ARK. – After trailing for most of the first half, the East Central University gained a lead until the final two minutes before falling 64-56 to Arkansas Tech in road Great American Conference action.

Scoring

• First Quarter: 9-17
  • The Golden Suns (8-11, 4-8 GAC) started on a 6-0 streak in the first 3:30 minutes
  • The Tigers (14-5, 9-4 GAC) followed with a 5-3 run to cut the deficit to four (9-5)
  • ATU finished the stanza on an 8-4 run
• Second Quarter: 25-15 (34-32)
  • The Golden Suns kept pushing and increased the lead to 12 (23-11) in the first two minutes
  • ATU kept around a 10-point lead for the next three minutes (16-27 / 5:26)
  • ECU then went on a 6-0 run in the next 1:30 to cut the deficit to 5 (22-27)
  • The Tigers kept the pressure up and used a 9-3 run to take its their first lead (31-30), with 1:30 remaining
  • ECU kept up the pressure and scored the final points, with 56 seconds remaining for the advantage
• Third Quarter: 11-11 (45-43)
  • The Golden Suns knotted the game 16 seconds into the half (34) and then saw things tied at 36 (8:12)
  • The Tigers then went on a 3-2 run over the next two minutes
  • Both teams went cold for the next three minutes
    • ECU broke the stalemate, with a layup by So. Ella Schultz for a three-point lead
  • ATU came back to tie the game at 41 (2:17) after three made free throws
  • The Tigers finished the stanza on a 4-2 run
• Fourth Quarter: 11-21
  • The Golden Suns again tied the game (45) in the first 30 seconds of the quarter
  • ECU followed with a 5-0 run over the next four minutes (50-45)
  • ATU fought back over the next three minutes to regain a 54-53 advantage
    • Four of the eight points came at the free-throw line
  • Teams traded points, with a tie at 56 (2:34 remaining)
  • The Golden Suns finished the game on an 8-0 run

Tiger Quick Shots

• ECU lost its first road game since Dec. 1, 2018 (four-straight games) at Southern Nazarene
• Sr. Tia Williams led the Tigers with 12 pts., 5 reb., 1 assist, 1 steal
• Schultz added a career-bests of 10 pts., 6 reb., 2 assists
• Jr. Sam Schwab earned her first career start
• After being close in shooting percentages at the half, ECU end up trialing ATU by at least 10% for the game
  • FG Pct.: ECU – 31% (21-of-67) / ATU – 41% (21-of-51)
  • 3PT FG Pct.: ECU – 27% (8-of-30) / ATU – 40% (4-of-10)
• Both teams shot 75% from the charity stripe, but the Tigers had a large disadvantage in attempts
  • ECU: 6-of-8 / ATU: 18-of-24

Up Next

• The Tigers will continue their five-game road trip for the next two weeks
  • Saturday, Feb. 2 at Harding (1 p.m.)
  • Thursday, Feb. 7 at Southwestern (5:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Feb. 9 at Northwestern (1 p.m.)
  • Thursday, Feb. 14 at Southeastern (5:30 p.m.)
• Next home game Thursday, Feb. 16 vs. Oklahoma Baptist (1 p.m.)