ADA, Okla. — The No. 25 Ouachita men's basketball team responded after a slow start Saturday to grind out a 67-55 road victory over East Central.

Ouachita flipped the momentum after deploying the bench midway through the first half, which turned an early 15-5 deficit into a lead it would never relinquish. Ouachita trailed by eight with under 11 minutes remaining in the opening half, but junior Trey Smith knocked down four consecutive shots to ignite the rally. After attacking the lane and scoring through contact, while also drawing the foul, Smith followed up hitting a baseline jumper. Senior PJ Neal found Smith wide open for a three that cut the deficit to 20-19 and forced East Central to burn a timeout. Smith finished with 13 points and four rebounds to extend his double-digit scoring streak to three games. 

Ouachita took control on a 20–5 scoring run, while holding East Central without a field goal for over eight minutes. Junior Gavin Snyder drilled a three from the right wing, then Neal bullied his way inside to score a tough, contested layup through contact as Ouachita turned an early 10-point deficit into a 32–25 lead by halftime.

Senior Devon Hancock capitalized on a second-chance opportunity after he sized up his defender and buried a corner three to stretch the lead to 39-31. Neal continued to orchestrate the offense, bruising his way through the paint to earn constant trips to the charity stripe. The Houston native pushed Ouachita's lead to 12 after he swiped a steal and finished a coast-to-coast fast break layup. Neal led the Tigers with 22 points, which featured a 14-for-16 performance at the free throw line.

Ouachita (16-3, 12-1 GAC) returns to host Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside Bill Vining Arena.