WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team hit the road to Weatherford, OK for a GAC battle against Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The Tigers fell just short 63-60 at the Pioneer Cellular Events Center.
 
"It all came down to rebounding. Plain and simple," Head Coach Daniel Wheeler said. "Give Southwestern credit. They just out-toughed us on the glass."
 
Godsgift Ezedinma got the scoring going with a 3-pointer to start the opening half. The first 20 minutes featured nine lead changes, but as the half went on, SWOSU slowly began to pull away. A 13-3 scoring run in a span of three minutes put the Bulldogs on top, and the Tigers went into halftime trailing 35-25.
 
Ellis Lee, Jr.'s 3-pointer coming out of the break sparked the Tigers to seven straight points and eventually put them within two at 44-42 following a shot from the arc by Barron Tanner, Jr. with 12 minutes to play. ECU was down by 10 points with under three minutes to go before staging a furious comeback. A pull-up by Keyon Thomas put the Tigers at striking distance at 62-60, but in the end, SWOSU survived the scare and closed out the game 63-60.
 
"We will learn from this and be better," said Wheeler. "This is a big week ahead for us, having two home games before the break. We will learn and grow from it."
 
Keyon Thomas and Luke Harper led the way for the Tigers in the matchup.
 
Thomas scored 17 points, going 5-for-11 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line, while Harper went 4-for-8 from the floor and 8-for-10 at the free throw line to give him 16 points.
 
The East Central University men's basketball team will be back at the Kerr Activities Center Tuesday, Dec. 13 for a non-conference matchup against Randall University at 6:00 p.m.