SHAWNEE, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team trailed by as many as 12, in the second half, before pushing back to earn a 76-72 victory over Oklahoma Baptist at the Noble Complex.

Scoring

• 1^st Half: 34-44
  • Tight start to the first half, with five tie scores and seven lead changes
  • No team lead by more than five until the final five minutes
  • After a tie at 27, the Bison (1-3, 1-2 GAC) went on a 10-1 run over the next 1:15
  • The Tigers (2-2, 2-2 GAC) countered with a 5-0 run over the next minute
  • OBU fought back and got the lead back out to 10 by the end of the half
• 2^nd Half: 42-28 (76-72)
  • In the first five minutes, ECU went on a 15-4 run to take a slight (49-48) advantage
  • The Bison started a 7-0 run of their own over the next three minutes to regain the lead
  • The Tigers were down by eight (51-59), when they mounted a 13-2 run to take a 64-61 advantage, after the first 13 minutes
  • The teams traded points for the remaining time, with ECU leading between 2-5 points

Tiger Quick Shots

• The Tigers saw strong scoring nights from three players, all with double-digit point totals
  • Jr. Jalen Crutchfield: 20 pts., 5 reb., 2 assists, 2 steals, .500 (7-of-14) FG, .714 (5-of-7) 3PT FG
  • Jr. Tylor Arnold: 18 pts., 5 reb., 2 assists, 2 steals, .444 (4-of-9) FG, 1.000 (9-of-9) FT
  • Fr. Brennan Burns: 16 pts., 3 reb., 4 assists, 2 steals, .667 (6-of-9) FG
• Sr. Josh Apple missed a double-double by one point
  • 9 pts., 10 reb., 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal, .364 (4-of-11) FG
• OBU recorded two more field goals (24/26) than ECU and the teams both made nine triples
• The key difference came at the charity stripe
  • ECU: 19-of-24 (79.2%) / OBU: 11-of-15 (73.3%)
• The Tigers also took better advantage of miscues, scoring 17 points off 15 Bison turnovers
  • OBU garnered just four points off eight ECU turnovers

Up Next

• The Tigers will have Saturday, Jan. 16 off after Northwestern Oklahoma State was forced to cancel due to COVID 19 protocols
• ECU's next home game is set for Thursday, Jan. 21 vs. Southern Nazarene – 7:30 p.m.