ECU splits pair with Southern Nazarene on Saturday
Feb. 20—BETHANY — The East Central University men's basketball team trailed from tipoff until the game's final minutes but led when it counted, riding a late Bryce Woolridge 3-pointer for the cushion they needed to secure a crucial 73-66 victory over Southern Nazarene University on Saturday afternoon inside Sawyer Center.
With the win, ECU improves to 11-13 overall and 7-11 in GAC play as they gear up for upcoming home games against Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist on Thursday and Saturday. Southern Nazarene dropped to 11-12 and 8-10.
Despite falling behind 38-28 in the first half and allowing SNU to extend their lead to 47-35 early in the second half, the Tigers fought back relentlessly.
Throughout the remaining minutes, ECU erased the deficit to tie the game for the first time at 64-64 thanks to a successful free throw from Robel Desta with 2:25 left on the clock.
SNU followed with a layup to briefly take back the lead, but Jayden Miller's basket inside the paint not only knotted the score but ignited a decisive 9-0 scoring run, highlighted by Woolridge's clutch 3-pointer.
The Tigers shot 50% (25-of-50) from the field, 40% (10-of-25) from the 3-point line, and 81.3% (13-of-16) from the charity stripe while the Crimson Storm hit 41.7% (20-of-48) from the floor, 40% (10-of-25) from 3-point range, and just 57.1% (16-of-28) from the free-throw line.
The trio of Robel Desta, Godsgift Ezedinma, and Jaden Miller led the Tiger offense, with Desta and Ezedinma making five field goals, including three 3-pointers and Miller adding 14 points on an efficient 6-for-8 shooting performance.
Benno Zecic and Ben Baker-McCann both scored 18 points for Southern Naz.
10 SNU stops East Central women
The East Central University women's basketball team nearly erased every bit of a 16-point third-quarter deficit, but ultimately dropped the road game against No. 10 Southern Nazarene University 63-49 on Saturday afternoon inside Sayer Center.
ECU dropped to 7-15 overall and 3-15 in conference play while SNU remains at the top of the league standings 23-1 and 17-1.
Mackenzie Crusoe's jumper in the paint got the Tigers within 44-40 with 9:04 left in the game but East Central couldn't complete the comeback. ECU had trailed 40-24 with eight minutes remaining in the third period.
Crusoe opened the scoring with a jumper to get ECU on the scoreboard first. SNU answered back with a basket of their own to knot the score, but Kennedy Cummings and Kate Ogle nailed a couple of 3-pointers, giving the Tigers a six-point lead of 8-2 with 7:21 remaining in the period. However, SNU managed to hold ECU scoreless for a stretch while adding nine points themselves to take a narrow 11-10 lead by the end of the quarter.
While the Tigers kept the game close initially, the hosts dominated in the second quarter, outscoring ECU 23-11 to separate themselves heading into halftime.
The Tigers adjusted in the third quarter, outscoring SNU 14-10, their lowest-scoring quarter, to chip away at the deficit. Down 44-30 with four minutes left in the quarter, ECU went on a five-point run to cut the lead to nine heading into the final period.
After East Central had trimmed its deficit to four, SNU responded with eight unanswered points.
Crusoe led once again with 16 points, going 4-for-12 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Kennedy Cummings picked up eight points while Jayden Weiberg and Natalie Payne added six each.
Hannah Giddey led SNU with 14 points and nine rebounds. Abbie Jiles followed with 12 points and Jena Bay hit three 3-point baskets and hit double figures with 11.
The ECU women's basketball team will return to Ada to face Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Note: Sports Editor Jeff Cali contributed to this report.
