BOX SCORE / POSTGAME INTERVIEW WITH HEAD COACH ALLEN SHARPE

MONTICELLO — The University of Arkansas at Monticello men’s basketball team held East Central without a made field goal in the final 10 minutes of the game to record a 65-52 victory over the Tigers on Saturday at home inside Steelman Field House.

ECU (7-14, 4-11 GAC) took a 47-41 lead on a three-pointer from Braxton Reeves at the 10:53 mark of the second half. From that point, ECU missed all of its final 11 field goal attempts and added five points at the foul line.

The Boll Weevils (13-8, 8-7 GAC) outscored ECU 40-25 in the second half after trailing by two points at halftime. UAM shot 64 percent in the second half from the field to increase the team’s final total to 52 percent (25-of-48).

UAM’s defense also aided the team’s double-digit lead in the first half. The Boll Weevils held the Tigers to just four points in the first 10 minutes to allow UAM to take a 14-4 lead on a three-pointer from senior Kori Forge at the 10:24 mark. Forge added another trey a minute later to give UAM its largest lead of the half at 11 points with 9:31 remaining.

The Tigers responded with a 21-4 scoring run over the next nine minutes to hold a six-point lead with just over a minute remaining until halftime. UAM’s Brandon Sims and A.J. Calhoun each added a layup in the final minute to trim ECU’s lead to 27-25 at the break.

ECU grabbed its largest lead of the game in the opening minutes of the second half on a layup from Colby Carr at the 17:28 mark to put the Tigers up 34-27. UAM began chipping away at the lead, getting the deficit to three points on two different occasions over the next six minutes before holding ECU to just five points in the final 10 minutes to allow for the come-from-behind victory.

UAM junior Brandon Sims notched another career-high, going 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-8 at the foul line for 26 points. Sims added a game-high 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Colby Carr led the Tigers with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The Boll Weevils return to Great American Conference action next Saturday, February 16 on the road against Southern Nazarene. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. in Bethany, Okla.