ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Following a series of momentum swings in the first half, the East Central University men's basketball team faced a formidable challenge in the second half, falling to Ouachita Baptist in a tough 75-63 road loss on Thursday night.
 
ECU (8-7, 4-5 GAC) got off to a slow start, falling behind 7-0 to start the game. However, the Tigers bounced back, with Godsgift Ezedinma's three-pointer initiating a scoring run that gave them an 8-7 edge. But the purple Tigers swiftly countered, regaining the lead and extending it to seven points at 18-11. Despite the deficit, the Tigers fought back, and another shot from beyond the arc by Ezedinma propelled ECU to a 25-23 lead with 4:08 left in the half. Heading into the break, ECU held onto a 34-31 advantage.
 
After halftime, ECU found some rhythm, establishing an eight-point lead (43-35) within the initial minutes to separate themselves. However, mirroring earlier instances in the game, Ouachita responded with an 8-0 run to level the score, and then followed it up with an 11-0  run to build a double-digit lead. ECU's efforts narrowed the margin to a single point with just under eight minutes remaining, but they were unable to replicate the breakthroughs, allowing the purple Tigers to hold onto their lead and ultimately secure a 75-63 victory.
 
Ouachita shot a conference season-high 54.2% from the field. Although ECU had a 53.85% shooting accuracy from the floor in the first half, the Tigers were held to just 37% in the last half, proving to be the difference in the game.
 
Godsgift Ezedinma and Keyon Thomas recorded 12 points each to lead the Tigers while Bryce Woolridge and Malik Nash added 11 points each to round out the double-digit performances.
 
The ECU men's basketball team will face Henderson State University tomorrow at 3 pm to conclude their road swing.