The Champion Tigers traveled to Springdale, AR to take on rival Ecclesia College in an important matchup with a lot on the line. Ecclesia was looking for pay back from their first match up of the year, as the Tigers had to claw back to force over time, eventually walking away with the win behind some massive exclamation points from Xavier Hall. This was a very important game for Champion, as they were competing without key players Xavier Hall, Josh Walpole, and Kyle Younge. This game was much different from the first matchup, as Champion dominated from start to finish and was able to walk away with the win, 84-73. 

In the first half, the Tigers were scoring at will. But that was not the reason the Tigers took the lead and kept it. Champion locked in on the defensive end, forcing 10 turnovers and holding Ecclesia to just 33% from the field. On the other end of the court the Royals had no answer for AJ Williams deep 3's (13 points, 3/4 for 3) or the interior dominance of Braylon Hawkins (11 points), KJ Corder (6 points, 7 rebounds), and Malik Laurent (6 points, 4 rebounds, 7 minutes). The Tigers would shoot 49% from the field, and an incredible 6/11 for 3. Going into halftime, Champion would have the lead 42-27.

Ecclesia knew they would need to go on a run in the second half to make it a game, and they came out swinging. Cutting the lead to as close as 9, Ecclesia gave a valiant effort to get back in the game. It proved to be too much of a first half deficit, as Champion continued to score at a high pace, and kept the lead the entire game. Led by AJ Williams and KJ Corder in the second half, your Tigers still managed to score 42 points, shooting 53% from the field. A short handed 84-73 win was just what the team needed to keep the momentum going.

Some notable performances from tonight's game:

AJ Williams finished with an efficient 24 and 5

KJ Corder ended with a massive double double, with 19 points and 13 rebounds

Braylon Hawkins also had a double double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, with 5 assists to go with it