ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — The East Central University men’s basketball team opened Great American Conference play with a 69-63 loss to Ouachita Baptist on Thursday night inside Bill Vining Arena.The Tigers saw their four-game win streak snapped and slipped to 4-2 on the season, while Ouachita improved to 5-2.ECU is back in action at 3 p.m. today at Henderson State University.The Tigers started fast, jumping out to a 7-1 lead behind a three-point play from Brandon Mann, an inside bucket by Jordan England and a layup from Rustin Coffey. But after the strong opening stretch, ECU’s offense went cold.A series of missed layups and two early turnovers fueled a 9-0 Ouachita run that flipped the momentum and put the host Tigers ahead 12-7. Ouachita maintained control from there and carried a 34-27 lead into the halftime break.East Central trimmed the deficit to a one-possession game four different times in the second half, including late in the contest. A 3-pointer by Kameron Newsome and a fast-break layup from Jaden Miller cut the gap to 63-61 with 2:06 remaining.However, Ouachita answered with consecutive baskets from Devon Hancock and Jaxon Conley to keep ECU at arm’s length.Perimeter shooting and turnovers proved costly for East Central, which finished just 3 of 16 from beyond the arc and committed 17 turnovers.Miller paced ECU with a double-double, totaling 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, a 6-of-7 effort at the free-throw line and 10 assists. Coffey added 11 points and five rebounds, while England chipped in nine points and four boards.Christian Parks led the host Tigers with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. PJ Neal followed with 15 points, and Hancock added 13.ECU women suffer first setbackARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Ouachita Baptist used a dominant performance in the paint to hand the East Central University women their first loss of the season, rolling to a 76-52 victory Thursday night at Bill Vining Arena.ECU dropped to 4-1, while Ouachita improved to 4-1 with its fourth straight win.Ouachita outscored ECU 40-12 in the paint and set the tone early with a pair of 7-0 runs in the opening quarter to take a 23-16 lead. The host Tigers shot 10 of 15 to open the game and extended their advantage to 43-27 by halftime.Ouachita pushed the lead to 47-29 early in the third quarter and later carried a 57-40 cushion into the fourth. The hosts continued to pull away down the stretch, stretching the margin to as many as 29 points at 74-45.Ouachita won the rebounding battle 35-28 and shot 26-for-50 from the field, including 5-for-12 from 3-point range. Its bench also outscored ECU’s reserves 33-18. The host Tigers finished 19 of 23 at the free-throw line, while ECU went 11 of 17.Katie Edelen led ECU with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and grabbed a team-best six rebounds. Makenzy Herman added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, and Eva Fernandez scored seven.Ouachita’s Abbey Harrison fueled the offense with 16 points and five rebounds, while Audri Winfrey contributed 12 points.ECU travels to Henderson State for a 1 p.m. tipoff today.Note: East Central Coordinator of Athletic Operations and Outreach Sydney Dungen contributed to this report.