East Carolina University
Tulsa
Gameday: ECU Opens Play In The American At Tulsa
December 27, 2017 | Men's Basketball
| Game 12: vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane | |
| Date: | Thursday, Dec. 28 |
| Time: | 5 p.m. (ET) |
| Location: | Tulsa, Okla. (Donald W. Reynolds Center) |
| Live Game Coverage: | TV: ESPNU Radio: WNCT 107.9 FM | TuneIn Radio Online Video Stream: WatchESPN |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Game Notes: | ECU | Tulsa | The American |
GREENVILLE, N.C. --- After enjoying a four-day break from the court, ECU returned to the practice floor Tuesday night to begin preparation for its American Athletic Conference opener Thursday against Tulsa at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
The Pirates are closed out non-conference play with a 76-68 win over Grambling a week ago, concluding it's out of league slate with four wins in its last five games under interim coach Michael Perry.
ECU overcame a 12-point deficit behind B.J. Tyson's 20-point effort, accompanied by 18 points from Isaac Fleming and a season-best 16 from freshman Dimitri Spasojevic. The Pirates used a 12-2 run to take a six-point lead with 6:29 to play and led the remainder of the contest.
Fleming posted his seventh consecutive double figure scoring game and Tyson registered his third 20-point game of the season.
Tyson leads the Pirates with 15.5 points per game (ppg) and is on the verge of moving into the top-3 on The American's all-time scoring list, standing nine points shy with 1,293 career points.
Tulsa completed its non-conference schedule with a loss at Oklahoma State, 71-59, on Dec. 19 to end its pre-conference slate at 7-5.
Senior Junior Etou leads the Golden Hurricane with 18.1 ppg and 6.4 rebounds per game, ranking fourth and 12th in the conference, respectively. He averaged 27.0 points against the Pirates in two games last season.
"Tulsa is a very good basketball team and they are keyed by one of the best [Etou] in our league," Perry said. "He can shoots 3s, he can post up, and he can drive it. He's a matchup problem for a lot of teams. We'll have to figure out some ways to slow him down.
"They've got some other guys that can play, but they allow him a lot of flexibility and play off him."
Junior guards Sterling Taplin (12.0 ppg) and DaQuan Jeffries (11.4 ppg) rank second and third on the team in scoring.
The Pirates compiled a 6-4 record at home during non-conference competition and played its lone road game at Rutgers on Nov. 24, losing by 14.
ECU is has just one win in nine games in T-Town with its lone win coming in 2013. Thursday's game marks the 20th all-time meeting between the Pirates and Golden Hurricane with TU holding a 16-3 series advantage.
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