Pirates Continue West Coast Swing At San Diego State
November 23, 2015 | Men's Basketball
SAN DIEGO --- East Carolina continues its west coast road trip Monday night moving down the California coastline for a first-ever match-up against San Diego State inside Vejas Arena at 10 p.m. EST on ESPN3 in game two of the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Pirates are coming off their first loss of the season Friday night at No. 14 California, while the Aztecs are coming off a 49-43 loss Saturday to Little Rock, East Carolina's opponent Thanksgiving Day in Las Vegas. SDSU's loss ended their 27-game home court winning streak against non-conference opponents outside the Top-25.
The Pirates will do their best to end another impressive Aztec streak by being the first opponent in 86 games to deliver SDSU a second consecutive loss, and give ECU a west coast split before heading to Las Vegas. The Aztecs have won 21 straight games following a loss.
East Carolina nearly pulled off the upset its Las Vegas Invitational opener Friday night against Cal, but the Golden Bears held the Pirates to just one point in the final two minutes as they turned a three-point game into an eight-point victory, 70-62.
Senior Michael Zangari matched his career-high against the Bears with 17 points and junior Caleb White added 15 for the Pirates, whose zone defense held Cal to just 3-of-23 shooting outside the arc. However it was the Bears' big men that dominated the game with 6-foot-11 Ivan Rabb and 6-foot-7 Jaylen Brown, both projected NBA Draft Lottery picks, each posting a double-double as California won the battle on the boards (+19) and in the paint (+20).
White leads the Pirates in scoring with 18.7 points per game with junior Michel Nzege raking second with 10.7 ppg. Freshman Kentrell Barkley, who has come off the bench in each of the first three games, leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 boards per contest. Despite shooting 33 percent against Cal, the Pirates are connecting on over 40 percent of their shots from the field this season and have made 19 more free throws than their opponents have attempted.
San Diego State is led by rookie point guard Jeremy Hemsley, who is one of five true freshmen in the country to average 13 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while connecting on at least 48.5 percent of his attempts from the field. Dakarai Allen is the only other member of the Aztecs to average double figures with 11.5 points per game.
The Aztecs are holding their opponents to 35.0 percent shooting from the field and 62.8 points per game. East Carolina has scored 61, 88 and 62 points in its three games this season.
| East Carolina Game 4: San Diego State | |
| Date | Monday, Nov. 23 |
| Time | 7 p.m. PST/10 p.m. EST |
| Location | San Diego, Calif. (Vejas Arena) |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets |
| Live Game Coverage |  Live Stream: ESPN3  Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | ECU Pirates On Demand (Listen Live) TuneIn Radio Online (within the app search ECU or Pirate IMG Sports Network) |
| Live Stats | Stat Broadcast |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | San Diego State |
