Late SNU run seals Tigers' fate
Dec. 7—Southern Nazarene University scored seven unanswered points in the final 1:20 of the game and rallied past East Central 68-65 Saturday afternoon inside the Kerr Activities Center.
East Central dropped to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in Great American Conference play, while the Crimson Storm is now 4-2 and 2-0.
"I thought we competed and put ourselves in a position to win the game," said ECU head coach Daniel Wheeler. "We have to find a way to execute better down the stretch and that is on me. This is a good league, and we will be in this position again. Hopefully, we learn from this and the outcome will be different."
ECU and SNU stayed neck and neck during the 40-minute contest.
The first half saw seven lead changes and three ties, with the Tigers holding their largest advantage of five with 6:34 remaining before halftime. SNU fought back to trim ECU's lead down to one point (30-29) at the break.
The Crimson Storm flipped the script in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 39-35. SNU led by as many as six points early on before ECU was back on top by four points (65-61) with under two minutes to go.
But the pivotal 7-0 scoring run down the stretch enabled the Crimson Storm to escape with the victory.
"This group of men continues to grow and play together. I am proud of their effort today. We will continue to grow," Wheeler said.
Godsgift Ezedinma led the Tigers with a career-high 20 points. He went 7-for-11 overall, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and made all three of his free throws. Ezedinma also added a team-high seven boards.
Keyon Thomas and Barron Tanner, Jr. also reached double-figures, scoring 14 and 11, respectively. Thomas went 5-for-13 from the field with five rebounds, while Tanner was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and 3-for-6 overall.
Luke Harper scored nine points in the game and had a season-high seven assists.
The Tigers will hit the road Saturday to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State University at 3 p.m. in Weatherford.
Note: ECU Sports Information Director Sydney Dungen contributed to this report.
