ADA, Okla. – The men's basketball team dropped a close 74-68 contest to East Central on Friday afternoon. SWOSU trailed by eight at halftime and went on to lead by as many as six points midway through the second half but could not hang on.

ECU gave the Bulldogs problems all day from beyond the arc. The Tigers hit five three-point shots in each half and finished 10-for-25 (40%) from deep in the game. Meanwhile the Dawgs shot just 4-of-27 (14%) from beyond the arc.  In a game where SWOSU won the turnover battle 17-8 and shot nearly 41% as a team, the three-ball proved to be the difference maker.

Heading into the halftime locker room, SWOSU trailed 36-28 after shooting just 32% in the first 20 minutes.

They bounced back with a 48% shooting percentage in the second half, which nearly all came inside of the three-point line and in the paint. This hot shooting allowed SWOSU to get back in the game and eventually grab a lead at the 14:54 mark.

With 12:02 left a Damion Thornton jumper had SWOSU up by six points at 50-44 before ECU answered with a run of their own to regain the lead. The Tigers got up by as many as five points after the lead change, but the Dawgs were able to knot things back up with 4:20 remaining at 62-62.

This score unfortunately, was the last time the game would be tied. ECU went on to close the game out on a 12-6 run to seal the deal over the last four minutes of action.

Thornton was SWOSU's only double-digit scorer for the day. He finished with 24 points on an even 11-for-22 shooting. Nine Bulldogs scored in the game, including 21 points from the bench.

SWOSU closes out the regular season Saturday at Southern Nazarene before turning their sights towards the GAC Tournament the following week. Tipoff against SNU tomorrow is set for 3pm.