MONTICELLO, Ark. – The East Central University men's basketball team engaged in another thrilling Great American Conference matchup, facing the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Saturday afternoon. In exciting fashion, the Tigers staged a comeback to narrowly defeat the Boll Weevils 55-53 and return to the win column.
 
Despite initially jumping out to an 8-2 lead, the Tigers soon found themselves trailing midway through as the Boll Weevils utilized a 12-4 scoring run to take the 14-12 lead. UAM maintained their lead for the rest of the first half, leaving ECU behind 31-21 at halftime.
 
However, with determination to come out of the hole, the Tigers chipped away at the deficit, starting with Jaden Miller's three-pointer at the 14:37 mark to break UAM's double-digit lead. Gradually closing the gap, ECU fought over the next seven minutes until they knotted the score at 47-all with seven minutes remaining.
 
As the game intensified, the score would tie on two more occasions in the final minutes. But after Godsgift Ezedinma's layup leveled the score for the last time, Keyon Thomas and Bryce Woolridge's made free throws down the stretch gave the Tigers the lead they needed to solidify the 55-53 victory.
 
Keyon Thomas and Jaden Miller led the Tigers with Thomas recording 17 points while Miller recorded 15. Bryce Woolridge and Nikk Williams each scored seven points, with Woolridge also adding a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
The ECU men's basketball team will now prepare for their next match against rivals Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 pm.