White, Tyson Lead ECU To Win Over Air Force

Saturday, November 26

Savannah, Ga.

5 p.m.

East Carolina University

5-2

Air Force

5-2

Air Force

East Carolina

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

November 26, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- B.J. Tyson had 18 points and Caleb White added 15 as East Carolina knocked off Air Force 70-63 in the third place game of the Savannah Invitational on Saturday.

Tyson, wo was named to the all-tournament team, made 7 of 14 field goal attempts and White nailed 3 of 6 from long range.

The Pirates, who never trailed, were ahead 33-31 at the break and pushed that to 65-46 with 4:49 left in the game. Air Force's Ryan Manning nailed a 3-point jumper to close to 67-60 with 1:19 left. Tyson and Kentrell Barkley answered with three free throws to seal the win.

East Carolina (5-2) shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half, going 25 of 57 for the game, while limiting Air Force to 21-of-62 shooting.

Trevor Lyons led Air Force (5-2) with 13 points and seven rebounds. Zach Kocur was 4 of 6 from beyond the arc for 12 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

East Carolina ran out to a 14-4 lead in the first six minutes as White and Tyson each scored six points during the run. Freshman Jeremy Sheppard's 3-pointer gave ECU a 19-9 lead with 11:42 remaining in the first half.
Air Force put together a 17-8 run to trim the Pirates' lead to one, 27-26, as the Falcons made four 3-pointers during that stretch. After Tyson's layup put ECU up three, Andre Washington scored its final four points and the Pirates went into the locker room with a 33-31 advantage.
ECU made six 3-pointers in the first half, three shy of its season-high of nine against Florida A&M. Air Force also made six 3s as the two teams combined to go 12-of-27 outside the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
The Pirates opened the second half on a 10-5 run, making five of their first seven field goal attempts.
White's 3 from the top of the key put ECU back up double digits, 50-40, with 12:35 to play. The Pirates followed their initial run to open the half with a 19-8 run that gave them a 62-44 lead with 5:35 to play.
Trailing by 19, Air Force put together a 14-2 run to get within seven, 67-60, with 1:19 remaining. Tyson and Barkley then combined to make 3-of-4 free throws pushing the lead back to double digits before Sid Tomes' late 3-pointer set the final margin.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Barkley and Washington shared the team lead in rebounding and assists with each grabbing eight boards and dropping three dimes.
White moved into fourth place on the ECU career 3-point field goals made list with 205.
Tyson remains the only Pirate to score double figures in every game this season, finishing with a season-high 18 points. He is 16 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
ECU posted its first 60-percent shooting half of the season, making 12-of-20 (.600) field goal attempts in the second half.
The Pirates posted their second-largest rebounding margin of the year (+16) and blocked six shots in a game for the fifth time.

NEXT TIP-OFF

East Carolina return home Tuesday, Nov. 29, at face 2016 MEAC tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant Hampton at 7 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.