SEARCY, Ark. – The East Central University men's basketball team finished their weekend trek in Arkansas with a perfect 2-0 record after defeating Harding University 87-67 Saturday afternoon.
 
The win lifts the Tigers 12-9 overall and 7-8 in conference play.
 
"Another good win for our team today," Head Coach Daniel Wheeler said. "I am proud of their approach going into this game. We did a good job against a good offensive team and created some turnovers and got out and ran. I also thought we shared the ball well on offense, as we had 20 assists. Really proud of the guys!"
 
The Tigers came out hot in the opening period taking a commanding 11-2 lead within the first three minutes. Harding began to chip away and managed to get within four at 22-18, but ECU pushed back. The Tigers extended their double-digit lead to 13 points before a pair of Bison free throws made the score 41-30 going into halftime.
 
The second half was all ECU. The Tigers had control of the game and eventually took their largest lead of the game of 21 points (72-51) with 8:30 minutes left of play. A jumper from Bryce Wooldridge would end the game with a final score of 87-67 in Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
 
Four Tigers combined for 61 points – Leonard Dixon, Luke Harper, Keyon Thomas, and Barron Tanner, Jr.
 
Dixon led the way with a season-high 19 points, going 7-for-12 from the field and an impressive 5-for-7 from the three-point line.
 
Harper was next with 16 points going 7-for-10 from the floor while adding six rebounds and eight of the 20 team assists.
 
Thomas was close behind with 14 points shooting 7-for-12 overall. He added three rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
 
Tanner scored 12 points going 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
 
The East Central University men's basketball team will be back at home Thursday, Feb. 9^th and Saturday, Feb. 11^th to host Arkansas-Monticello at 7:30 p.m. and Southern Arkansas at 3 p.m.