Men's Basketball Wins Final Regular-Season Road Game
February 17, 2017
ALVA, Okla. – The East Central University men's basketball team picked up its fifth-straight victory and moved into a three-way tie for first in the Great American Conference with an 89-74 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State and a loss by Arkansas-Monticello to Arkansas Tech.
The Tigers (19-6, 15-4 GAC) are tied with Arkansas-Monticello and Arkansas Tech at 15-4, with three games left in the regular-season. ECU will have a chance to break the tie, as they are set to face Arkansas Tech, Thursday, Feb. 23 in Ada. All three teams are also ranked in the top six in the first official NCAA Central Regional Poll, with ECU ranked No. 4.
The Tigers were paced by senior Braxton Reeves, who was recently named to the top 50 of the Bevo Francis Watch List, with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists. Freshman Cameron Talley added 23 points and two boards, while senior Donovan Halsel tallied 12 points and four rebounds.
ECU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and had the advantage out to as many as nine points in the first six minutes. However, the Rangers (11-13, 7-12 GAC) did not go away quietly, using a 10-2 run to take a 22-24 lead, with 9:25 left in the half.
Things remained close for the next minute, but that is when the Tigers started to pull away. Over a five-minute span, ECU used a 10-2 run for a 35-27 lead. In the final three minutes of the game, NWOSU was held to just four points and just one field goal. That allowed the Tigers to take a 45-31 advantage into the intermission.
ECU came out and kept the momentum up in the second half, increase the lead to 20 in the first 6:30. The Rangers never gave up, but were unable to get closer than 13 the rest of the game. The Tigers kept the pressure up and ended up claiming the 89-74 victory.
ECU had a strong overall game, shooting 60 percent from the field and beyond the arc, while holding NWOSU to 45.6 percent overall and 28.6 from three-point range. Triples are where the Tigers really made the most impact, hitting 12 to just four by the Rangers.
The final three games of the regular-season will now be played at the Kerr Activities Center, starting Saturday, Feb. 18 with a 3 p.m. game against Southern Nazarene.
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