MONTICELLO, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello men's basketball team won a wild back-and-forth contest against East Central University on Thursday from the Steelman Field House in Monticello, Arkansas, 84-79. The Weevils got out in front late and hit some clutch free throws to seal the win in the final minutes.
 
The tightness of the contest was evident going into halftime as the Weevils took a 34-33 lead into the break. Both teams continued to battle until a couple momentum shifting turnovers won by UAM changed the contest.
 
UAM did stretch a lead to 12 points at one moment in the game forcing an ECU timeout thanks to Austin Hardy drilling a couple of deep threes in the first half. Shortly after, the Tigers answered and cut into the lead and even took an advantage of their own by four after Josh Apple hit a layup on the fastbreak.
 
The Weevils got their lead back in the final minute when KJ Lesure hit a jumper on a fastbreak helping UAM take a 34-33 advantage into halftime.
 
In the second half, the Weevils and Tigers were locked in a battle. With a little over eight minutes remaining, ECU took a 56-54 lead. Then, UAM took it back moments later, and again, the Tigers answered with a big three to make it 61-58 ECU.
 
A little later, with the Tigers ahead, 65-62, the momentum swung in UAM's favor when Jeremiah Alexander got a big steal and slammed a dunk home on the other end to cut it to two. Seconds later, Denzel McDuffey did the same thing taking it coast-to-coast and ripping home a dunk to give the Weevils a 66-65 lead.
 
ECU did take a lead again shortly after, but the Weevils still had the crowd on their side. With 2:18 left to play, Lesure got to the line to give the Weevils a 74-73 lead, and with 1:51 to play, he hit a big three to put UAM up, 77-73, sending the Steelman Field House faithful into a frenzy.
 
UAM then stretched it to six points which forced the Tigers to foul in the final minutes. The Weevils hit some clutch free throws down the stretch and went on to win the contest, 84-79.

For UAM, it now moves to 19-9 overall and 11-8 in Great American Conference play, while East Central drops to 16-9 overall and 10-9 in league games. The Weevils are now in fifth place in the GAC standings.
 
Lesure paced UAM scorers with 23 points while also adding an assist and two steals.
 
McDuffey was second to Lesure in scoring with 22 points. He also had eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
 
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UAM will look for more revenge when Southeastern Oklahoma State University comes to town on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. following the women's game.