BOX SCORE | BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – East Central reached a pair of milestones in its 78-58 win against Southern Nazarene in Friday’s second Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal. For the first time since the 1997-98 season, the Tigers won a postseason game and reached the 20-win mark.
The Tigers (20-9) jumped out quickly on a Crimson Storm (13-14) squad making their first appearance at the GAC Championships following a three-year transition into NCAA Division II. ECU opened up early leads of 11-4 and 24-9. At 3-pointer at the first-half horn by Brandon Lucas, the Tigers’ eighth 3-point connection of the game, gave them a 43-27 advantage. East Central shot 53.3 percent over the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, the East Central kept Southern Nazarene at bay, never letting the Crimson Storm inch any closer than 13 points. The Tigers continued to shoot the ball well, improving to 54.5 percent in the second half. Donovan Halsel proved to have the hottest hand as he finished the night a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, including 5-for-5 from the 3-point arc.
Lucas finished 4-of-5 and added 14 points. First-Team All-GAC guard Stirling Thomas added 11 points. Thomas and Reeves each increased their season’s 3-point field goal total to 91, four away from matching the conference’s single single-season mark in the category.
Corey McCrary led the Crimson Storm with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc. C.J. Rodriguez added eight points, seven rebound and four assists.
The Tigers will take on Harding in Saturday’s first men’s semifinal, set for 5:45 PM on GACSportsNetwork.com. Each team earned a win on their home floor. Harding won 87-80 on January 15 in Searcy, while East Central won 78-76 on Friday 21 in Ada. In that contest, Braxton Reeves won the game with a 3-pointer as time expired.