East Central University caught fire from the field in the second half on Saturday afternoon and pulled away to defeat Arkansas Tech University 95-78 in Great American Conference men’s basketball at the Kerr Activities Center in Ada, Okla.
The Wonder Boys led 37-32 late in the first half, but the Tigers seized the momentum with a 6-0 run over the final 1:22 of the period. ECU led 38-37 at the intermission.
The Tigers remained hot in the second half, connecting on 17 of their first 21 field goal attempts to build an insurmountable 82-65 edge at the 4:25 mark.
ECU’s Camron Talley scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the second half.
“We knew they were going to go right to (Talley),” said Chad Kline, ATU head coach. “It’s one thing if he scores, but they have to be tough shots. We let him have some easy ones, and at that point the basket starts to look as big as the ocean to a scorer of his ability. We went into panic mode a couple of times on offense after that. When we turn it over 18 times, we have no chance.”
Tylor Arnold and Da’Rion King added 21 points apiece for the Tigers. King grabbed 15 rebounds.
East Central (7-4 overall, 4-2 GAC) earned its seventh consecutive home victory and its fourth straight win overall.
R.J. Glasper notched 21 points for the Wonder Boys (2-10, 0-6), who suffered their eighth consecutive loss. ATU’s Josiah Thomas contributed a career-high 17 points, Will Adler netted 15 points and Alex Brown had 14 points.
The Wonder Boys will welcome Southern Nazarene University to Tucker Coliseum in Russellville for a 7:30 p.m. GAC contest on Thursday, Jan. 10. Tickets ($5 adults/$3 students and senior citizens) will be available at the door. Those with a valid ATU identification card will be admitted at no charge.
