ADA, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team fell to Southern Nazarene University in their home Great American Conference opener 68-65.
 
"I thought we competed and put ourselves in a position to win the game," Head Coach Daniel Wheeler said. "We have to find a way to execute better down the stretch and that is on me. This is a good league, and we will be in this position again. Hopefully we learn from this and the outcome will be different."
 
ECU (5-2, 1-1 GAC) and SNU (4-2, 2-0 GAC) stayed neck and neck during the 40-minute contest.
 
The first half saw seven lead changes and three ties, with the Tigers holding their largest advantage of five with 6:34 remaining before halftime. SNU fought back to trim ECU's lead down to one point (30-29) at the break.
 
The Crimson Storm flipped the script in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 39-35. SNU led by as many as six points early on before ECU was back on top by four points (65-61) with under two minutes to go. But a 7-0 scoring run down the stretch by SNU closed the game 68-65.
 
"This group of men continues to grow and play together. I am proud of their effort today. We will continue to grow."
 
Godsgift Ezedinma led the Tigers with a career-high 20 points. He went 7-for-11 overall, 3-for-6 from the three-point range, and made all three free throw attempts. Ezedinma also added a team-high seven boards.
 
Keyon Thomas and Barron Tanner, Jr. also reached double-figures, scoring 14 and 11, respectively. Thomas went 5-for-13 from the field with five rebounds, while Tanner was 2-for-4 from the arc and 3-for-6 overall.
 
Luke Harper scored nine points in the game and had a season-high seven assists.
 
The East Central University men's basketball team will hit the road Saturday, Dec. 10 to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma at 3:00 p.m.