MONTICELLO, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello Men’s Basketball team hosted out-of-state, Great American Conference foe East Central University in their eighth conference match-up of the 2022-23 season. The Weevils came out of the evening with a heartbreaking 66-59 loss to the Tigers.
Newcomer Isaac Jackson led the way for the Weevils (5-9, 1-7 GAC), posting 19 points in his Saturday performance. Jackson came out of the night with a 7-18 on field goals. The sophomore improved on his season average from beyond-the-arc, shooting 3-6 at the 3-point line. Jackson being the evil Weevil he is, got after East Central with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals to finish his strong night.
Mario Fantina and Josh Denton both finished the night with double-digit points. Fantina, a 6’5″ sophomore from Croatia, scored 11 points, with four rebounds and three assists. Denton, a 6’6″ Arkansas native racked up 10 points of his own on the night.
Senior Ray Price had his hand in 20 of the Weevils total 59 total points.
East Central (8-6, 3-5 GAC) was led by Quinton Johnson II with 24 points.
After an early free throw for Isaac Jackson, and a turnover by ECU that lead to a Mario Fantina jumper, the Weevils would take a 3-0 lead to start the match. The Tigers drove down and responded with a couple jumpers of their own to put them back on top 4-3. Cole Andersonfound his first points of the night on a layup, getting the Weevils back on top, 5-4. Both teams continued proving they wanted the win as the game would see eight lead changes throughout the opening 20 minutes. The Tigers were able to capitalize on two late free throws to put them up 34-31 as the teams would head to the locker room.
Neither team scored for nearly a minute into the start of the Second half. ECU would then find a field goal and a free throw to extend their lead over Arkansas-Monticello. The Tigers would go on a 6-0 run for the next 3 minutes 36 seconds, but Josh Denton would break the Weevils silence with a 3 pointer. With 4:17 left on the clock, East Central would hit a turn around field goal to increase their lead to 58-52. The Tigers would go on to finish the half scoring 32 points compared to the home teams 28. The Weevils would shoot 32% on field goals and 38% from the beyond-the-arc in the half. The game eventually came to a heartbreaking close with the Tigers on top for a 66-59 win over the Weevils.
Arkansas-Monticello committed only 8 turnovers in the entirety of the match.
UP NEXT
The Weevils return to the court on Thursday, January 19 when they host in-state, Great American Conference member Arkansas Tech University at Steelman Field House. The match will tip off at 7:30 p.m.
All live streams and live stats will be available as clickable links on the UAM Men’s basketball schedule.
UAM would like to give a thank you to today’s game day sponsors, Commercial Bank and Ryburn Automotive. Thank you for your continued support of UAM Athletics!