ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The East Central University men's basketball team took one step closer to securing a slot in the Great American Conference tournament, set to begin March 2, with a 72-64 win against Ouachita Baptist University Thursday night.
 
The win boosted ECU to 15-10 overall and 10-9 in conference play, which is currently good for fifth place.
 
"We found a way tonight," Head Coach Daniel Wheeler said. "I thought we gave great defensive effort and executed that well. Multiple guys stepped up and made shots. It was a good team win!"
 
ECU got on the board first with a layup from Quinton Johnson II before a pair of free throws from Ouachita tied the game. The purple Tigers did not make a field goal for nearly three minutes while the orange Tigers capitalized on a few scoring runs to pull away with a double-digit lead (21-10) at the 8:19 mark. Ouachita managed to trim the deficit down to four points before a 7-0 scoring run pushed ECU back out to an 11-point lead with 2:51 left in the half. Ouachita responded with a 6-0 run to close the gap to 30-25 heading into halftime.
 
After the break, Ouachita fought to stay alive in the game as they kept the scoring distance between ECU at single digits for the first eight minutes. But a made free throw by Keyon Thomas put the orange Tigers back in a double-digit lead which grew to 16 points at the 5:20 mark. Ouachita put together a last-ditch effort for a comeback after a 14-3 scoring run made it a five-point game, but ECU stayed strong and finished with a 72-64 win.
 
Four Tigers scored in double figures – Quinton Johnson II, Keyon Thomas, Luke Harper, and Godsgift Ezedinma.
 
Johnson was just shy of one rebound from earning his first double-double of the season. He recorded 21 points, shooting 50% from the field to go along with a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Thomas was next with 13 points, going 5-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the three-point line.
 
Harper followed with 11 points shooting 4-for-8 overall and adding eight boards.
 
Ezedinma finished with 10 points going 4-for-7 from the field while grabbing seven rebounds.
 
The East Central University men's basketball team will wrap up its final Arkansas road trip of the season with a GAC matchup against Henderson State University Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3:00 p.m.