East Carolina University
10-15, 2-10
Cincinnati
19-7, 9-4
ECU's Second Half Charge Held Off By Cincinnati
February 13, 2016 | Men's Basketball
From wire and staff reports
CINCINNATI --- The East Carolina men's basketball team trailed Cincinnati by just five with 6:41 remaining, but the Bearcats ended the game on a 17-7 run to outlast the Pirates, 75-60. at Fifth-Third Arena on Saturday.
Senior Octavius Ellis had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Cincinnati (19-7, 9-4), while Clayton, N.C. native Gary Clark added 15 and 12 as five Bearcats scored double figures.
The teams exchanged the lead six times in the opening 13 and East Carolina led 23-22 with 6:48 left in the first half before Cincinnati closed out the first half on a 12-3 run to lead by eight at the break, 34-26.
East Carolina (10-15, 2-10) opened the second half by scoring 11 of the first 15 points to pull within one, 38-37, forcing Cincinnati to call timeout. The Pirates fought to tie it at 42-all with 13:37 left.
The Bearcats responded by scoring five unanswered and pushed the lead to double digits in just over three minutes, helped by a 3-pointer and dunk from Kevin Johnson.
ECU made a push to pull back within five, but Jacob Evans halted the Pirates' momentum with a 3-pointer followed by a basket inside from Coreontae DeBerry.
Prince Williams led the Pirates with 15 points. Caleb White added 13 points off the bench with B.J. Tyson scoring 12 and Kentrell Barkley 11.
Cincinnati shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and outscored East Carolina in the paint 38-22.
