Jackson’s last-second shot gives East Central win over Ouachita

ECU Athletics 
Teri LaJeunese, Sports Information Director

ADA – East Central University men’s basketball redshirt freshman Gerren Jackson hit a last-second layup to give the Tigers (116, 8-4 GAC) an 80-78 victory over Ouachita Baptist in Great American Conference action at the Kerr Activities Center.

Scoring

• First Half: 32-38
  • Ouachita (7-9, 4-8 GAC) started the game on a 6-0 run, in the first 2:30 minutes
  • ECU fought back and tied the game at eight, with 14:57 left on the clock
  • The Tigers kept pushing and took a 19-14 advantage, with 10:25 left
  • Ouachita pushed back and gained a 20-19 advantage in the next two minutes
  • Ouachita kept the pressure up and gained a 33-25 (+8) lead, with three minutes left
  • ECU cut the deficit to three (35-32) over the next two minutes
  • But Ouachita finished the stanza with a 3-0 run
• Second Half: 48-40
  • The Tigers came out fighting and tied the game at 41 and then 43, with 14:22 remaining
  • ECU continued an 8-2 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead since the first half
  • Ouachita pushed back and tied the game at 49 in the next two minutes
  • The Tigers then caught on fire and took its first double-digit lead (66-55), with 5:35 remaining
  • ECU kept up the pressure and earned a 14-point lead (73-59), with four minutes left
  • Ouachita then started a run and cut the deficit to three (76-73), with two minutes on the clock, with a 17-0 run
  • The Tigers hit a shot with a minute left for a 78-76 advantage
  • Ouachita then tied the game at 78, with 19.2 seconds left on free throws
  • ECU got one last chance to earn the win and Jackson was able to rush in from the half court line for a layup, with 0.4 left to play to earn the victory

Tigers Quick Shots

• Ouachita was the last team that the Tigers had not faced in GAC action for the 2018-19 season
  • ECU had faced Southern Nazarene twice before hosting Ouachita
• The win pushed the Tigers pushed their all-time series lead to 19-9 overall and 15-6 in league action
  • This was the fourth-straight game that ECU had one against Ouachita
• Jr. Camron Talley moved up two spots on the ECU 1,000 Point Club to No. 14
  • He surpassed Bobby Shelton (1,109) and Duane Goodwin (1,120), who both played from 1985-89
  • He now has 1,125 career points
  • Just four points from moving up to No. 13 currently held by Chuck Liston (1993-97) with 1,141 points
  • Next spot is held by Stirling Thomas (a Ja Havensplayer), with 1,184 points
• Talley was one of two players with double-digit point totals
  • Talley: 28 pts., 4 reb., 2 assists, 2 steals
  • Sr. Da’Rion King: 19 pts., 7 reb., 3 assists, 1 steal
• ECU shot 54.0% (27-of-50) from the field and held Ouachita to a 47.2 % (25-of-53) mark
• The Tigers are now fourth in the GAC standings
  • Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist are tied for first at 10-2
  • Southern Arkansas is third at 9-3

Up Next

• The Tigers will start a five-game road trip, with the next home game coming Feb. 16
  • Road trip starts at Arkansas Tech, Thursday, Jan. 31 (7:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Feb. 2 at Harding (3 p.m.)
  • Thursday, Feb. 7 at Southwestern (7:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Feb. 9 at Northwestern (3 p.m.)
  • Thursday, Feb. 14 at Southeastern (7:30 p.m.)
• ECU will then play the final three home games of the season Feb. 16-23