ADA, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team finished their four-game home stand, coming up short to Arkansas Tech University 68-60 Saturday afternoon in the Kerr Activities Center.
 
The loss drops ECU to 7-5 overall and 2-4 in GAC play.
 
"We just weren't quite good enough today," Head Coach Daniel Wheeler said. "Give Arkansas Tech and Coach Downey the credit on that as they influenced that. They had a run in the first half that we could not quite get back in front on."
 
Barron Tanner, Jr. scored the first basket of the night to make it 2-0. The game would tie four times and have three lead changes before an 11-0 scoring run by the Wonder Boys allowed ATU to take the lead 21-11 with 6:17 remaining before the break. The Tigers worked their way back, but ATU still held the lead 30-23 heading into halftime.
 
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw the Tigers claw their way back to within three after a jumper from Luke Harper made the score 47-44, but the Wonder Boys went on a 9-0 run to take control and continued to hold onto it for the rest of the game. In the end, ATU would close out the day with a 68-60 over the Tigers.
 
"We had some opportunities and let them slip away," said Wheeler. "Hopefully we learn from this and continue to progress."
 
Keyon Thomas led the Tigers with 18 points, going 4-for-11 from the floor, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
 
Godsgift Ezedinma also scored in double figures with 10 points. He was 3-for-8 from the field and added a team-high six boards.
 
Luke Harper scored nine points, Quinton Johnson II scored eight, and Barron Tanner, Jr., Ellis Lee, Jr., and Jakeem Acres each had 5.
 
The East Central University men's basketball team will hit the road to Magnolia, AR to take on Southern Arkansas University Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.