BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – All five of Ouachita’s starters scored in double figures and the Tigers never trailed in the second half against East Central to earn its second trip to the Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championship title match after an 83-80 victory on Saturday from Bruin Fieldhouse.
The Tiger starting unit of Justin McCleary, Tirrell Brown, Lakee Westbrook, David Berete and Carven Holcombe accounted for 77 of the teams’ 83 points. McCleary paced Ouachita (18-12) with 21 points. He hit four 3-pointers to go along with added five assists and four steals. Brown, following a 21-point, seven-rebound effort on Thursday’s quarterfinal win against Southern Nazarene, hit 7-of-11 shots and totaled 18 points and nine rebounds in only 21 minutes of action.
East Central (22-8) held a 24-18 advantage before Ouachita closed the half on a 20-7 run to carry a 38-31 advantage into second half. In the second half, Ouachita never relinquished the advantage and led by as many as nine points. ECU pulled to within one possession at 79-77 and had the ball with a change to regain the lead but Stirling Thomas missed a 3-point try and on Ouachita’s following possession, the Tigers got a tip-in from Holcombe to extend the advantage. ECU had one final chance to tie the game, but committed a turnover on an inbounds pass with one second remaining.
Thomas, ECU’s two-time First-Team All-GAC selection, finished with a game-high 23 points. He averaged 24.5 points in the Tigers’ two GAC Championship games. ECU entered the week ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings and will await Sunday’s selection show to see if it earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Ouachita will take on the winner of Harding and Southern Arkansas in Sunday’s title game with the GAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The Tigers swept the co-champion Bisons during the regular season and split with the Muleriders. For the first time in GAC history, ESPN3 will carry the broadcast.