PHOTO GALLERY || BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – East Central’s bench production lifted the Tigers past Ouachita, 92-82, and knocked out the defending champion at the Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championships on Saturday from Bruin Fieldhouse. Tiger reserves accounted for 49 of the 92 points.
KD Moore and Camron Talley totaled 44 of the 49 bench points for ECU (23-7). As a squad, the Tigers outscored Ouachita, (14-14) 49-18. Moore scored a career-high 22 points and registered his first double-double as he grabbed 11 rebounds. Moore’s production dwarfed his output in ECU’s two regular-season games against the Tigers when he totaled six points and two rebounds in the two games. Talley hit 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc and match Talley’s 22-point total.
Braxton Reeves, the GAC’s unanimous Player of the Year, joined Moore and Talley in the 20-point club. As part of his 20-point game, he knocked down three 3-pointers, his 20th game this season with at least three 3-pointers.
The Tigers converted 36-of-49 from the free-throw line. The 49 attempts broke the GAC Championship single-game record, held by Harding in a 2014 semifinal victory against Arkansas Tech. Moore, Cannon, Reeves and Talley combined to take 45 of the 49 tries.
With Ouachita’s loss, the GAC will have a new men’s tournament champion for the fifth-straight year. Only once has a reigning champion even advanced to the final. Arkansas Tech returned to the title game in 2013 after claiming the inaugural crown. First-Team All-GAC guard Lakee Westbrook hit five 3-point field goals in scoring a game high 24 points. He averaged 21.0 points in three games against East Central. Justin McCleary pitched in with 18 points.
The Tigers await the winner of the Arkansas Tech-Arkansas-Monticello tilt in Sunday’s 3:30 PM title contest. The game streams on GACSportsNetwork.com. The Wonder Boys scored two single-digit wins against the Weevils while UAM and ECU split the two regular-season contests with the winner reaching the 100-point mark in both matchups.