Alva Review-Courier -

ADA, Okla. – East Central closed the first half on a 30-6 run, breaking an 11-11 tie and pulling away from SWOSU in a 77-54 victory for the Tigers on Thursday evening inside the Kerr Activities Center in Ada.

SWOSU slowed the tempo and controlled the opening minutes, keeping the score low but leading for the first eight minutes of the contest. The Dawgs had an 11-8 lead, but ECU tied the game with a trio of free throws from the GAC's leading scorer, Braxton Reeves, with 12:17 before the break. From that point on, it was all Tigers as they heated up while SWOSU's offense was limited and ECU took a 41-17 lead to the break.

The Bulldogs offense found a better rhythm in the second half, shooting 47.1% (16-for-34) from the field and outscoring East Central 37-36 after the break, but it was not enough to overcome their first-half woes.

Reshardd Harris scored 17 points – all after halftime – to lead the Bulldogs while Devin Pugh added 13 points, but no other player scored more than four points in the contest. Harris also had a team-high nine rebounds while Markeise Champion led the Dawgs with two steals.

"I'm proud of our guys because they played hard, they played disciplined and they played together," SWOSU Head Coach Bob Battisti said following the contest. "We struggled making shots, which has been a problem of ours, so now we have to keep working, stay together and good things eventually will happen."

The setback is the third straight for SWOSU, with the Bulldogs falling to 4-9 on the year and 1-6 in Great American Conference play. SWOSU hopes to return to action on Saturday afternoon at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center against Southern Nazarene, with a final decision on that games status in the air due to pending weather in the area.