SHAWNEE, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a road loss to Oklahoma Baptist University on Saturday. Despite a fast start, the Tigers couldn't keep pace with the top-ranked team in the Great American Conference, falling 87–62 inside Noble Complex.
 
With the loss, ECU drops to 10–12 in conference play and now shifts its focus to the Great American Conference Tournament in Fort Smith. As the No. 5 seed, the Tigers will take on No. 4 Southern Nazarene University on Friday, March 6 at 12:00 p.m., opening the GAC men's quarterfinal matchups.
 
To open the first half, Brandon Mann got the scoring started with a tough layup under the basket at the 18:57 mark. OBU answered with a score on its next possession. A last-second pass from Mann to Rustin Coffey, who threw down a dunk, gave the Tigers the lead once again. As the half progressed, both teams shot the ball well, but OBU maintained the edge.
 
With 10:19 left in the first half, Oklahoma Baptist led 22–15. ECU scrambled to find its rhythm offensively. Mann ended the scoring drought with a pair of made free throws. Javaun Henderson provided points off the bench, and a strong move to the basket by Jaden Miller gave ECU a spark with 3:55 remaining.
 
The Tigers began the second half facing a nine-point deficit against the top-ranked Bison. Hudson Linsenmeyer scored in the paint following an OBU basket, and England knocked down a three-pointer to help ECU cut the deficit to 30–39. However, the game began to slip away around the 10:00 mark, when the Tigers trailed 41–60.
 
Despite improving their shooting to 58.85% from the field in the second half, ECU could not overcome the deficit. England led with 15 points while Mann and Coffey each finished with nine points.