Boll Weevils leave ECU men behind
Jan. 13—It must have felt like winter inside the Kerr Activities Center for the East Central University men's basketball team Thursday night in a Great American Conference matchup with Arkansas-Monticello.
The Tigers dropped a 61-44 decision to the Boll Weevils after shooting just 30 percent from the field.
ECU fell to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in GAC play, while Monticello improved to 5-7 and 3-4.
Struggling to get much of anything to fall through the basket, the Tigers faced an uphill battle from the opening minutes of the game.
The Tigers trailed just 25-22 after Desta Robel made the first of two free throws with 4:10 left in the opening frame. However, Monticello followed with a 7-0 run to build a 10-point lead at 32-22.
The Boll Weevils scored the first eight points of the second half to stretch their lead to 40-24 with 16:53 left in the game. The Tigers got within 45-38 after a 3-pointer from Bryce Woolridge with nine minutes remaining but could get no closer.
The UAM advantage grew to as many as 18 points in the final minutes.
East Central connected on just 6-of-21 (28.6%) field goals in the second half and went 1-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc during that span. ECU also missed 10 free throws, finishing 10-of-20 from the line.
No Tigers posted double-digit scoring. Keyon Thomas led the team with nine points. Woolridge and Nikk Williams totaled eight points each. Mohamed Elgohary added six points and eight rebounds for the home team.
Zane Nelson led Monticello with 17 points, four rebounds, three steals and five assists. Isaac Jackson was right behind with 16 points and six rebounds.
The ECU men's basketball team will be back at the Kerr Activities Center at 3 p.m. today for a GAC matchup with Southern Arkansas University at 3 pm.
Note: ECU Sports Information Director Sydney Dungen contributed to this report.
