Pirates Head To Dallas For Sunday Date With SMU
February 19, 2016 | Men's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. --- East Carolina opens a two-game road swing Sunday afternoon against No. 21 SMU at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. The Pirates have lost five in a row, while the Mustangs have dropped three of their last five as well.
The game can be heard across the Pirate IMG Sports Network on 105.9 FM in Greenville, 101.1 FM in Jacksonville, and 95.7 FM in New Bern. It'll also be televised on ESPNEWS.
East Carolina is coming a 69-52 loss to USF on Tuesday, scoring its fewest points since being limited to 55 by SMU on Jan. 13. Caleb White was the team's leading scorer with 13 points off the bench, while Kentrell Barkley added 10 points. The Pirates shot just 34.0 percent from the floor, while allowing USF to shoot 47.4 percent.
White scored 15 points in the first meeting of the season with SMU, as did B.J. Tyson.
SMU suffered a 68-62 setback at UConn on Thursday for its fourth loss in seven games after opening the season with 18 straight victories. Four players scored in double figures led by Nic Moore's 14 points with Ben Moore adding 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Ben Moore had 17 points in the Mustangs 79-55 win over ECU earlier in the season with Jordan Tolbert scoring 15. Markus Kennedy came off the bench to post a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Nic Moore handed out 12 assists to give SMU its third straight win over ECU.
The Mustangs enter Sunday's game tied with Houston for The American's highest scoring offense at 78.7 points per game. They also rank first in scoring margin, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage and rebounding margin.
Sterling Moore leads the conference in 3-point percentage, having made 25 of 47 (.532) shots outside the arc. Nic Moore, who is averaging a league-best 2.7 3s per game, is hitting on 41.8 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Prince Williams is the Pirates' most accurate 3-point marksman at 39.1 percent followed by White at 38.4 percent with both players ranking among the conference's top-15. Williams has made a 3-pointer in nine consecutive games, making 20 of 48 (.488) attempts during the span.
Sunday's match-up will be the fourth meeting between coaches Jeff Lebo and Larry Brown, with Brown having won the last three. Lebo played for Brown during the 1989-90 season with the San Antonio Spurs.
| Game 27: at SMU | |
| Date | Sunday, Feb. 21 |
| Time | 1 p.m. CST |
| Location | Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum) |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets |
| Live Game Coverage |  TV/Online: ESPNEWS/WatchESPN.com Radio: Pirate IMG Sports Network | ECU Pirates On Demand (Listen Live) TuneIn Radio Online (within the app search ECU or Pirate IMG Sports Network) |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | SMU |
| @ECUScoreboard | |
