| Game 17: East Carolina at Temple | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 7 |
| Time | 12 p.m. (ET) |
| Location | Philadelphia (Liacouras Center) |
| Television | American Sports Network | Find Your Station |
| Web Coverage | Live Stats \\\ Listen Live \\\ ESPN3 |
| Game Notes | East Carolina \\\ Temple |
| Social Media | Twitter: @ECUScoreboard \\\ @ECUPirateHoops |
PHILADELPHIA --- East Carolina will look to snap a two-game skid and even up its American Athletic Conference record Saturday as it faces 2016 regular season conference champion Temple at Liacouras Center beginning at noon.
The game will be carried on the American Sports Network and televised throughout eastern North Carolina on MyWITN 7.2 as well as streamed on ESPN3.
Each team enters Saturday's contest with a 9-7 overall record but have struggled sent getting off to quick starts with the Pirates dropping five of seven and the Owls losing five of eight. ECU is 1-2 in league and the Owls are still searching for their first conference win after three games.
The Pirates are coming off a 48-45 loss to UCF in a game in which both teams shot under 27 percent from the floor. After starting the game 8-of-48 from the field, ECU finished with a fury, connecting on 8-of-12 in the final six minutes, including 5-of-7 outside the arc.
In the final six minutes of the game, ECU cut a 17-point deficit down to two and had a chance to force overtime, but B.J. Tyson's game-tying attempt rattled in and out. Tyson finished the game with 13 points and Kentrell Barkley scored a team-high 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
Barkley has led ECU in scoring and rebounding in three of the last four games and has been the team's top rebounder in four consecutive contests, raising his rebounding average by 0.5 boards per game.
He ranks second on the team with 6.7 rebounds per game and is third in scoring (10.6 ppg) and tied for second in assists (3.1 apg). Tyson has assumed the team's scoring lead with 12.3 ppg, while senior Caleb White's scoring average has dropped to 11.8 ppg.
Graduate transfer Andre Washington has been a staple in the Pirates' defense, averaging nearly three blocks per game (2.8) overall, second best in the conference. He's blocked a total of 15 shots in conference play and ECU has rejected 21 as team, tops in the league.
Entering play Friday, ECU was fourth nationally in field goal percent defense, holding opponents to 36.5 percent shooting, and 13th in scoring defense, surrendering a mere 60.7 ppg.
Temple brings a scoring average of 70.9 ppg into Saturday's contest with four players averaging double figures led by Obi Enechionyia, who ranks among the conference leaders in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg), but has been held to 9.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg in league play.
Enechionyia and Shizz Alston each had 16 points to pace the Owls in their 79-65 loss at SMU Wednesday. Quinton Rose added 14 off the bench.
The last time ECU and Temple met, Enechionyia led the Owls with 18 points, but it was the Pirates who posted a 64-61 victory in Greenville with Kentrell Barkley registering a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and making the game-winning shot with one second remaining. It was the Pirates first win over the Owls in four meetings.
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