Box Score ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – East Central only needed 2.3 seconds to pull out an 85-83 victory over Ouachita Baptist on Thursday evening.
It was the third game in a row for the Tigers in which the score has come down to the final few possessions of the game.

With 20 seconds to go in the game Gabe McKenzie hit a three pointer to give East Central (12-8, 10-6 GAC) an 82-81 lead. Ouachita (9-12, 7-9) called a timeout with 15 seconds to go in the game. Mahlon Martin (Little Rock, Ark.) took a pass from Jontavis Willis (Strong, Ark.) with five seconds to go to give the Tigers an 83-82 advantage.

With 2.3 seconds to go in the contest Cameron Hines bounce passed the ball to McKenzie who nailed a three pointer as time expired giving East Central the victory.

On a night where the students came to pack out Bill Vining Arena for the "Release The Roar" promotion, everyone was treated an instant classic between the two schools.

The game was a tight back-and-forth affair from the start as each side matched the other bucket-for-bucket. Then with 15:38 to go in the opening half Willis stole the ball and threw it ahead to Trey Harris (Little Rock, Ark.) who scored the easy lay in.

The bucket was the tenth point of the game and the entire arena went wild. The roar from the crowd was so deafening that it took East Central by surprise and they missed their next shot. Harris came back down the court and hit a three-pointer that sent the crowd into a further frenzy.
Eventually though East Central regained their composure in the hostile atmosphere and went on a quick 8-0 run to quiet the crowd.

At the 3:00 mark of the first half Garrett Pearson (Harrah, Okla.) knocked down a three-pointer to pull the Tigers within two points. Moments later Harris hit a layup to tie the game at 33. The crowd was back in it as the two teams battled down the opening stretch. East Central went into half time with a 38-37 advantage.

Coming out of the halftime break Willis reared back and connected on a three-pointer to give the Tigers a 40-38 lead. The two teams battled each other back-and-forth the whole second half. In the second half alone there were two ties and five lead changes between the teams.

With 6:47 to go in the game the Tigers began to taste victory as Isaiah Harper (Little Rock, Ark.) hit a wide open three-pointer to give Ouachita a five-point lead late in the game.

 Wesley Franklin (Frisco, Texas) hit a layup with 2:20 to go in the game, but the four-point lead did not rattle East Central in the slightest as the two teams fought down to the final seconds of the game.

After shooting just 38 percent from the field in the first half, Ouachita responded by shooting 56 percent from the field in the second half.
Although it was not enough, Willis finished the game with 19 points, Franklin and Martin each had 13 points while Matt Stanley (Cabot, Ark.) added 11.

Ouachita's next game will be on Saturday afternoon against Southeastern Oklahoma State. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.