ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita men's basketball team led by as many as 32 points as it took down East Central University by the final score of 79-65 Saturday afternoon at Bill Vining Arena.
After some back-and-forth action to open the conference matchup, Ouachita (14-6, 9-5 GAC) started to find its groove by the 16-minute mark. East Central (7-13, 4-10 GAC) kept things close for the next few minutes, but the Purple Tigers kept the pressure on and pushed their lead to double digits with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Ouachita's lead continued to grow throughout the rest of the half, reaching its first-half peak of 16 points with 25 seconds remaining and the Tigers went into the break leading 37-21.
Ouachita did not slack off coming out of halftime, and the lead hit the 20-point mark within the first 90 seconds. The Purple Tigers stayed in the fast lane and pushed the lead to 30 points before the under-15 media timeout. Ouachita led by as many as 32 points over the course of the second half. ECU slowly chipped away at Ouachita's throughout the final 10 minutes, but the Purple Tigers kept the Orange Tigers out of reach to win by the final score of 79-65 and secure revenge for the loss earlier in the season.
The Purple Tigers shot exactly 50 percent from the field and held ECU to just 38 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent from three-point range.
For the second game in a row,
Shaun Williams led the way with a game-high 22 points that came on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, including going 4-for-5 from three-point range.
Hobert Grayson and
Reggie Martin tied for second in shooting with 18 points each. The pair also posted perfect records at the free-throw line.
Grayson led the team in rebounding with 12. Those 12 boards and 18 points combined for the Gonzales, Louisiana native's 12th double-double of the year.
Devyn Franklin led the team in steals with three and was second in rebounds with seven.
PJ Neal led all passers with seven assists and
Rollin Belton led the team with two blocks.
Ouachita still sits in a three-way tie for third place after this weekend's contests with eight games left in the regular season.
The Tigers will be making their final trip to Oklahoma next weekend when they travel to take on the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 6 in Weatherford.
