Six Eagles Score in Double Figures in Home Win Over Ecclesia

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team defeated Ecclesia College by the score of 96-78 in the Southerland-Mabee Center on Saturday.

Six Eagles scored in double figures in the win.  Duke Hardin and Frank Petion tied for the team lead with 17.  T.J. Clardy followed close behind with a 16-point performance, and Ashton Young, Ben Keton, and Jayvon Clark all added 10 points each.

The Eagles shot 47.9 percent from the field as a team including 37 percent from beyond the arc.  WBU recorded 23 assists as a team and scored 20 points off of 18 Ecclesia turnovers.  The Eagles bench contributed 41 points in the win.

The game started off close as Ecclesia took a quick 10-6 lead in the first four minutes.  The Eagles would fight back and go on a 13-1 run to take a 26-15 lead midway through the first half.  Ashton Young would hit a big three-pointer to put the Eagles up 43-35 at halftime.

Ecclesia would cut the Williams lead to just four points after a Ryan Reed trey with 17:15 left in the second half, but that would be as close as the Royals got to the Eagles on the scoreboard.  A 12-3 Eagles run with 3 minutes left in the ball game powered by a couple of deep three-pointers from Duke Hardin would give WBU its largest lead of the day and ice the ball game for the team's eighth win of the season.

The Eagles return to action one more time before the new year on Monday, Dec. 18 against Hendrix College in the Southerland-Mabee Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 PM.