East Carolina University
4-4
Florida Atlantic
3-3
East Carolina Falls to FAU, 72-63
December 03, 2014 | Men's Basketball
From wire and staff reports
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Justin Massey had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead Florida Atlantic to a 72-66 win over visiting East Carolina on Wednesday night.
Marquan Botley tallied 15 points and six assists and C.J. Turman added 14 points for Florida Atlantic (3-3). The Owls shot 52 percent from the field led by 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range for Massey.
The two teams exchanged the lead five times in the first 13 minutes before the Owls took the lead for good. Down 14-11, Massey hit a 3-pointer to knot the score at 14 then hit another 3 two possessions later as a part of a 20-4 run for the Owls, taking a 12 point lead at the half.
FAU made 10 consecutive shots after making just 4 of 17 field goal attempts to start the game. The Owls finished the first half at 50 percent compared to just 38.1 percent by the Pirates. FAU held East Carolina (4-4) scoreless for nearly four minutes, scoring 13 unanswered points.
Forwards Michel-Ofik Nzege and Michael Zangari each picked up two fouls in the first five minutes, forcing the pair to sit most of the first half. With the Pirates' top two rebounders on the bench, FAU scored six points off five offensive rebounds and limited ECU to two second chance points.
Massey continued his hot shooting at the start of the second half, making three consecutive 3s to help the Owls bolster their lead to 19 in less than four minutes. The Pirates trimmed the lead down to 11 with less than four minutes to play, but never got their deficit under double figures until Caleb White hit a 3 just before the final buzzer.
White led East Carolina with 18 points and five rebounds, scoring 16 points after halftime. B.J. Tyson chipped in 16 points including 12-of-13 made free throws to lead the Pirates to 91.7 percent shooting from the line. Kanu Aja netted double figures for the first time in his ECU career, scoring 11 points off the bench.
The Pirates return to action on Sunday, Dec. 7, against No. 12 North Carolina at 3 p.m. inside the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
