SHAWNEE, Okla. – Robel Desta clinched a game-tying layup while drawing a foul with 0.1 seconds left remaining to send him to the charity stripe where he sunk the go-ahead free throw in ECU men's basketball's thrilling 84-83 win over Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee on Saturday night.

The victory improves ECU to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in GAC play.
 
"A resilient win from our guys," Head Coach Daniel Wheeler said. "This is a group of fighters. This group is growing and getting better. Give OBU credit as they gave us everything we could handle and more."
 
Despite a strong opening start from OBU, establishing a commanding 10-2 lead without missing a field goal, ECU quickly responded. By the halfway mark, the Tigers rallied ahead 20-17, with Desta single-handedly responsible for the first 12 points.
 
The game remained tightly contested, with the Bison managing to tie the contest 26-all with a little over six minutes remaining in the first half. Both teams continuously exchanged advantages while the score tied four more times until OBU led 38-37 heading into halftime.
 
After the break, the Tigers regained control, holding a 54-50 lead with 12:12 left on the clock. However, ECU would see the lead slip away as a seesaw battle unfolded before OBU reached their largest advantage of the night, up by nine points at 79-70 with two minutes remaining.
 
But the Tigers clawed their way back, with Keyon Thomas' layup sparking a 14-4 scoring run capped off by Desta's game-sealer free throw to ultimately seal the remarkable comeback and victory for ECU.
 
Six Tigers notched double-digit points with Keyon Thomas leading at 21 points going 7-of-13 from the field and 3-for-6 from the three-point line.
 
Robel Desta had a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 (77.8%) shooting while Godsgift Ezedinma recorded 12 points and four rebounds.
 
Bryce Woolridge, Malik Nash, and Mohamed Elgohary each collected 10 points.
 
The ECU men's basketball team will play their final game before the New Year on Monday, December 18^th at 3:00 pm against John Brown University at the Kerr Activities Center.