ECU Offense Comes To Life In Victory Over Tulane

Saturday, February 4

Greenville, N.C.

2 p.m.

East Carolina University

11-13,3-8AAC

Tulane

4-19,1-10AAC

Team	1	2	F
Tulane	31	34	65
East Carolina	43	31	74

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

February 04, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

RESULT
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Caleb White scored 20 points, Jeremy Sheppard hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 18 points and East Carolina defeated Tulane 74-65 on Saturday. White had three 3-pointers as did Kentrell Barkley, who scored 14 points with 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season along with six assists. The Pirates (11-13, 3-8 American) made 12 of 21 from the arc for 57 percent. Cameron Reynolds scored 16 points and Ray Ona Embo 15 for the Green Wave (4-19, 1-10), who lost their seventh straight. Malik Morgan handed out 12 assists.

TURNING POINT
East Carolina finished off the first half on a 16-3 to lead by 12 at halftime, 43-31. The Pirates started the run by scoring eight unanswered – layup by Elijah Hughes and back-to-backs 3s from White and Sheppard. Cameron Reynolds briefly interrupted the spurt with a 3 before Barkley hit a trio of free throws and Hughes closed the first half scoring with a 3. ECU held Tulane to 1-of-8 shooting in the final 5:17 and forced three turnovers. The lead reached 15 less than four minutes into the second half.

Tulane got within three, 63-60, but back-to-back 3s by Barkley and Sheppard gave ECU some breathing room and a nine-point lead with 4:22 to play.

GAME NOTES
Sheppard's five 3-pointers were a season-best … White's 20 points were his most since scoring 20 against N.C. Central on Dec. 3 and his most in an American Athletic Conference game this season … White moved into sole possession of second place on the ECU career list for 3-point field goals made 230 … Andre Washington blocked six shots to become the second player in program history to reject 70 field goal attempts in a season (Moussa Badiane did it three times from 2001-05) … The Pirates' 12 3-pointers were a season'-high as was its 57.1 shooting percentage outside the arc … The Pirates' nine first half 3s were the most the made in a half this season … ECU won for the first time this season when allowing its opponent to shoot over 40 percent from the field (1-9) … East Carolina improved to 11-1 when leading at halftime … The win snapped a three-game losing streak at home to Tulane … ECU's 74 points were a conference-season high.

ECU PLAYER-OF-THE-GAME
Kentrell Barkley posted his sixth double-double of the season and 10^th of this career, finishing with 14 points and a game high 12 rebounds. He also finished one assist shy of matching his season-high of seven against Stetson. He connected on 4-of-9 shots overall and 3-of-4 both outside the 3-point arc and at the free throw line. Barkley has recorded a double-double in two of the last three games and has grabbed double-digit rebounds in four of the last seven games.

TULANE PLAYER-OF-THE-GAME
Cameron Reynolds led the Green Wave with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-point field goals and free throws made. He was one of the players on the team to grab six rebounds and played 39 minutes.

QUOTE-OF-THE-NIGHT
"It felt good to see the first couple ones go. It was just literally like a weight off my shoulders. I was able to relax a little at halftime. I sat down and [told myself] 'finally, I'm good'. [I] gained some more confidence as the game went on, putting the ball on the floor, getting to the free-throw line, things like that. It's really just about staying aggressive, keep shooting." – Senior Caleb White

NEXT GAME
The Pirates will be off for the next six days before returning to competition Feb. 11 against USF at the Sun Dome in Tampa.