ADA, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team returned to action for their first home game of 2025, taking on Southern Nazarene University. Despite an early lead, the Tigers struggled as the Crimson Storm's offense heated up, ultimately falling 83-68 on Saturday at the Kerr Activities Center.
 
ECU (4-8, 1-5 GAC) came out strong, with a layup from Nikk Williams and a three-pointer from Bishop Jones helping the Tigers take an early 12-5 lead. SNU quickly responded with five consecutive points, cutting the deficit to two, but ECU maintained their advantage, thanks to back-to-back dunks by Williams and Mason Jones, pushing the lead to 18-10 midway through the first half.
 
The Tigers stayed ahead at 24-17 after a three-pointer from Hudson Linsenmeyer, but SNU found their rhythm, going on an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 25-24 with 5:55 remaining. From there, the Crimson Storm's offense exploded, while ECU's shooting went cold. SNU extended their run to 18 consecutive points, flipping the game on its head. A layup by Bryce Woolridge ended the surge with two minutes left, but ECU was down 44-29 at the half.
 
The second half saw SNU continue their offensive attack, building a commanding 28-point lead at 76-48 with 6:20 to play—a deficit the Tigers struggled to overcome. ECU found some rhythm down the stretch, with Jourdyn Grandberry contributing 10 points and Mason Jones hitting back-to-back three-pointers, but the gap was too wide to close, and the Tigers fell 83-68.
 
Despite shooting a higher field goal percentage (56.3%) compared to SNU's 52.7%, ECU could not match SNU from beyond the arc, with the Crimson Storm connecting on 15-of-31 three-pointers, while the Tigers hit 9-of-20. Turnovers were another key factor, as ECU committed 20, leading to 28 points off turnovers for SNU.
 
Bishop Jones led the Tigers with 16 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field. Jourdyn Grandberry added 12 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting, and Bryce Woolridge contributed 10 points and a team-high five rebounds.
 
Next, the Tigers will travel to Arkansas for games against Arkansas-Monticello on January 9 and Southern Arkansas on January 11.