WARRENSBURG, MO – The East Central University men's basketball team finished the Weekend Classic in Warrensburg, MO with a perfect 2-0 record, defeating the University of Central Missouri 77-69 on Sunday afternoon.
 
"Tonight was a gritty win. It was not always pretty, but our guys found a way," Head Coach Daniel Wheeler said. "UCM is always a tough place to win, and Coach Karleskint does really good stuff with his team. Once again, we had multiple guys step up when we needed them to and make big plays."
 
The game started off slow, with both teams going scoreless for three minutes before  Keyon Thomas got the Tigers on the board with a jumper. The Mules answered back with a 7-0 scoring run to take the early lead at 7-2, but a 3-pointer from Barron Tanner, Jr. quickly got the ECU offense going, and a 12-0 run by the Tigers would double their lead 14-7.
 
The Tigers never looked back and led by as many as 14 points at 34-20 with just under four minutes to go in the opening half. A layup by Jakeem Acres and 3-pointer from Mason Jones made the score 39-26 going into halftime.
 
UCM made a layup to start the second half and eventually found a 14-0 run to close the gap to within two at 45-43. ECU went on a 14-5 run over the course of a six-minute span to regain their double-digit lead at 59-48.
 
The Mules managed to get back within six with three minutes left to play before the Tigers pulled away once again. A final dunk from Jakeem Acres and two layups from Barron Tanner, Jr. settled a 77-69 ECU victory.
 
"I'm really happy for our guys," Wheeler said. "They've worked to put themselves in this position to start the season."
 
 Keyon Thomas led ECU with 18 points. He went 6-for-9 from the floor, 2-for-3 from the 3-point range, and hit four out of five free throw attempts. Thomas also had three assists, two steals, and three rebounds.
 
Barron Tanner, Jr. scored 14 points to go along with eight rebounds. He made 5-of-9 shots from the floor and also hit two 3-pointers.
 
Romello Wilbert  was close behind with 13 points, going 6-for-9 from the floor while adding eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Jakeem Acres also scored in double-figures, posting 10 points.
 
The East Central University men's basketball team will now prepare for their home opener at the Kerr Activities Center Friday, Nov. 18, against Kansas Christian College at 7 p.m.