ECU Opens Season With Victory Over Coppin State

Sunday, November 12

Greenville, N.C.

5 p.m.

East Carolina University

1-0

Coppin State

0-2

Coppin State

ECU

November 12, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

RESULT
ECU built a 22-point halftime lead and never looked back as it cruised to 76-50 victory over Coppin State Sunday night in its season-opener.

TURNING POINT
The first half belonged to ECU as they outscored the Eagles 30-10 over a 12-minute stretch. The Pirates held Coppin State to just 18.5 percent shooting, allowing only five made field goals and holding it without a field goal over the final 5:25 of the half.

ECU PLAYER OF THE GAME
Junior Kentrell Barkley scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Barkley scored the Pirates' first basket of the season after intercepting a pass and taking it the length of the court for a rim raising dunk.

COPPIN STATE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Adam Traore was the only player to reach double figures for Coppin State, scoring 10 points, He made 7-of-8 at the free throw and knocked in 1-of-3 3-point attempts. He also had a team leading six rebounds.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Redshirt freshman Shawn Williams score 14 points in 17 minutes of action off the bench, going 4-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 at the free throw line … Williams first two makes of the night were both 3s … Junior Isaac Fleming scored 10 of his 12 points in the final seven minutes of the first half … The Pirates received a total 22 points from the five newcomers: Justin Whatley (8), K.J. Davis (5), Usman Haruna (4), Aaron Jackson (3) and Dimitri Spasojevic (2) … Haruna and Whatley grabbed six rebounds each … Haruna led ECU in blocks and steals with two in each category.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
ECU won its 18^th consecutive season opener and 16^th straight home opener … ECU improved to 45-6 all-time in season debuts at Minges Coliseum with a 23-1 mark inside Williams Arena … All 10 scholarship players scored at least three points … The Pirates posted their 22^nd straight win over an HBCU opponent … It's 26-point margin of victory was ECU's largest season-opening win since 2013 when it defeated N.C. Wesleyan by 46 (97-51) … ECU Head Coach Jeff Lebo returned to the sidelines for the first since January 15 ... Senior B.J. Tyson moved ahead of former Memphis standout Dedric Lawson into eighth place on The American's all-time scoring list with 1,130 points … Senior Jabari Craig, Spasojevic and Fleming each made their first career starts as Pirates … ECU dominated inside the paint, out-scoring Coppin State 36-8 and out-rebounding the Eagles by 17 (47-30) … Junior walk-on Justice Obasohan came off the bench to score just the second field goal of his career.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"It was nice to get that first game under wraps here. I thought we did some good things in particular defensively, I was very worried in this game because of their ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter, so I thought we did a great job and I thought we made it difficult for them to get an open look." - ECU Head Coach Jeff Lebo

UP NEXT
The Pirates return to action Wednesday, Nov. 15, against Radford. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.