East Carolina University
12-20, 4-14AAC
USF (First Round)
8-24, 4-14AAC
ECU Drops 71-66 Decision to USF in AAC Tourney
March 10, 2016 | Men's Basketball
From wire and staff reports
ORLANDO, Fla. - Angel Nunez scored 19 points, on 7-of-12 shooting, with 11 rebounds and Chris Perry made 7 of 11 field-goal attempts and finished with 18 points to help ninth-seeded South Florida beat No. 8 seed East Carolina 71-66 in the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament on Thursday.
It was the third-career double-double for Nunez, who began his career at Louisville before playing the last two seasons at Gonzaga.
Lance Tejada hit a 3-pointer and, after an offensive foul on Nunez, made a layup to pull East Carolina (12-20) within two with 2:48 to play.
A layup by Bo Zeigler and a dunk by Jaleel Cousins pushed the South Florida (8-24) lead to 64-58 with 1:24 left and Jahmal McMurray scored four as the Bulls made 5 of 6 free throws from there to seal it.
USF will face top-seeded Temple (20-10) in the quarterfinals on Friday.
B.J. Tyson led ECU with 19 points and Lance Tejada added 17 points of the bench.
In his final game as a Pirate, senior Michael Zangari posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Michel Nzege also grabbed 10 boards.
Without the services of junior Caleb White, who was out with flu-like symptoms, the Pirates struggled outside the arc (6 of 30) and were beaten inside the paint, 42-28, by the Bulls.
USF used its size advantage to pull down 14 offensive rebounds, which led to 18 second chance points. East Carolina actually had more offensive boards that the Bulls, 15, but only managed to score 10 points and were limited to just six points in transition.
