East Carolina University
2-2
San Diego State
3-2
East Carolina Ambushed By San Diego State
November 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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From wire and staff reports
SAN DIEGO --- San Diego State scored the game's first 16 points and never looked back as the Aztecs raced past East Carolina, 79-54, at the Viejas Arena Monday in the second game of the Las Vegas Invitational for both teams.
Sophomore Lance Tejada led the Pirates with 11 points, reaching double figures for the first time this season. Senior Michael Zangari and sophomore B.J. Tyson, who led the Pirates with eight rebounds, added nine points each.
Winston Shepard came off the bench to score 16 points and freshman Jeremy Hemsley also had 16 points to lead the Aztecs, who won their 22nd straight game following a loss. Dakarai Allen made a 3 on SDSU's first possession. Hemsley made three more in the opening outburst and Trey Kell, who had made just 1 of 9 3s this season, hit two as the Aztecs held a 22-5 lead.
The lead grew to as many as 23 in the first half as San Diego State shot 50 percent from the floor, while ECU connected on just 7 of 29 (.241) field goal attempts. SDSU led 44-27 at halftime.
"We knew coming into the game that after a loss we were not going to get the same team that played against Little Rock," Pirates coach Jeff Lebo said. "They really shot it way better than they've shot it all year. That really put us on our heels to start."
The Pirates shot the ball at a much better clip after halftime, connecting on 40.7 percent (11 of 27) of their shots, but never got their deficit under 16 points.
The Aztecs 3-point onslaught continued in the second half as they added another five triples to their total and finished the game 11 of 27 outside the arc. ECU made seven 3-pointers with Tejada sinking two.
San Diego State, who entered the game ranked 46th in the nation in field goal percent defense, held ECU to 32.1 percent shooting and forced 14 turnover which resulted in 25 points. The Aztecs finished the game 26 of 53 (.491) from the field.
East Carolina will continue play in the Las Vegas Invitational Thanksgiving Day against Little Rock, who defeated San Diego State this past Saturday, 49-43. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
