East Carolina University
8-7, 0-2
Tulsa
9-6, 1-2
Pirates Fall to Tulsa 55-43
January 05, 2016 | Men's Basketball
From wire and staff reports
TULSA, Okla. --- Rashad Smith scored 20 points with nine rebounds and Tulsa shut down East Carolina 55-43 on Tuesday night.
Smith was 10 of 13 from the floor for Tulsa (9-6, 1-2 American). Rashad Ray added 11 points with three 3-pointers.
East Carolina was led by Kentrell Barkley with 10 points off the bench. The Pirates (8-7, 0-2) were limited to 29.8 percent shooting from the floor and just 2 of 16 from beyond the arc. They entered play shooting 43.7 percent this season and 35 percent on 3-pointers. Leading scorer B.J. Tyson (15.1 points) was held to eight points on 4-of-13 shooting, while Caleb White was limited to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Neither team started hot. Tulsa led 7-0 over the first 6:15 of the game as East Carolina missed its first five shots and committed six turnovers.
The Pirates finally got on the board with 6:15 into the game as Clarence Williams scored in the paint. Barkley made a pair of free throws to make the scored 14-6 before Tulsa scored 12 unanswered to take its first 20-point lead of the game, 26-6, with six minutes left in the opening half.
Tulsa closed the half on an 11-4 run and led 37-14 at the break as it held the Pirates to a woeful 6 of 33 (.182) shooting performance prior to intermission, which included 0 for 7 outside the arc.
The Golden Hurricane connected on 51.6 percent of its first shots, scored 22 points in the paint and 13 off turnovers.
Despite trailing by 24 during the second half, East Carolina clawed its way back to within 13 with 5:55 to play as Barkley nailed its first 3 of the night. White added a second 3-pointer with 1:48 to play to set the final score.
East Carolina outscored the Golden Hurricane by 11 in the second half and shot 45.8 percent from the field, while allowing TU to shoot just 22 percent.
ECU continues American Athletic Conference play Saturday at Temple. Tip-off is schedule for 9 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNEWS.
