ALVA, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team aimed for a series sweep over Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, but in a low-scoring battle, the Tigers came up short on Saturday, falling 56-50 to the Rangers at Percefull Fieldhouse.
 
ECU got out to a quick start making their first two shots to take an early 4-0 lead. However, Northwestern responded with a 16-2 scoring run to seize control, leaving the Tigers trailing 16-6 midway through the first half.
 
ECU answered back with five straight points to narrow the gap to five, courtesy of a layup from Keyon Thomas and a three-pointer from Ryan Kelly, but the Rangers consistently had an answer for every Tigers' basket. At halftime, the Rangers extended their lead to 29-19.
 
Out of the intermission, ECU made efforts to mount a comeback, with Godsgift Ezedinma hitting a three-pointer and Bryce Woolridge adding a layup to trim the deficit to 29-24. The Tigers continued to battle back, closing the gap to within one point at 33-32 with 14:28 remaining on the clock, but consecutive three-pointers from the Rangers boosted their lead to 39-32 nearing the final 10 minutes.
 
Although ECU narrowed the margin to a single possession on four occasions, trailing by only two points at 52-50 after Malik Nash's successful free throws with 0:37 seconds left, Northwestern secured the 56-50 win by making all of their last four free throw attempts.
 
Neither team found extreme success from the field as the Rangers shot 38.1% as a team while the Tigers were slightly better at 39.2%. Shooting from the charity stripe played a factor in the game, with ECU going 6-for-11 from the foul line while Northwestern was boosted by making all 17 free throw attempts.
 
The Tigers (9-9, 5-7 GAC) were led by the trio of Keyon Thomas, Bryce Woolridge, and Godsgift Ezedinma. Thomas and Woolridge posted 11 points each while Ezedinma was close behind adding 10.
 
The ECU men's basketball team will have the opportunity to bounce back next week when they host Harding and Arkansas Tech at the Kerr Activities Center on Feb. 1^st and 3^rd.