Friday, March 10
Hartford, Conn.
12 p.m.
East Carolina University
15-18
77
vs
81
SMU
28-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina | 21 | 56 | 77 |
| SMU | 43 | 38 | 81 |
Photo by: American Athletic Conference
Pirates' Fierce Comeback Against SMU Falls Four Points Short
March 10, 2017 | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Semi Ojeleye scored a career-high 36 points and No. 12 SMU held off East Carolina 81-77 Friday in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
The conference's player of the year hit 12 of his 19 shots and pulled down 12 rebounds, giving him his fifth double-double this season.
Sterling Brown added 16 points for SMU (28-4). The American's regular-season champions have won 14 straight and 24 of their last 25 games.
Kentrell Barkley, who has been battling tendinitis in his left knee, had 22 of his 24 points in the second half to lead East Carolina, which rallied from a 22-point halftime deficit to tie the game. Caleb White had 17 points and Elijah Hughes added 15 for the Pirates (15-18).
Ojeleye had 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half, when the Mustangs led by as many as 24 points.
His dunk and free throw started a 17-5 run that gave them their first double-digit lead at 24-13.
SMU hit 12 of its first 17 shots and went into halftime with a seemingly comfortable 43-21 lead.
But the Pirates outscored SMU 56-38 in the second half.
They trailed 63-45 with 7 minutes left before making their run.
A 3-pointer by White, followed by a steal and layup from Elijah Hughes on the inbounds, cut it to 71-69 with just over 3 minutes left.
SMU pushed the lead back to eight, but the Pirates rallied again and Hughes' 3-pointer tied the game at 77 with 57 seconds left.
But Ojeleye tipped in an offensive rebound on the other end and the ball went out off Barkley's fingertips and out of bounds as he was cutting for a layup on ECU's next possession, allowing the Mustangs to hang on.
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The conference's player of the year hit 12 of his 19 shots and pulled down 12 rebounds, giving him his fifth double-double this season.
Sterling Brown added 16 points for SMU (28-4). The American's regular-season champions have won 14 straight and 24 of their last 25 games.
Kentrell Barkley, who has been battling tendinitis in his left knee, had 22 of his 24 points in the second half to lead East Carolina, which rallied from a 22-point halftime deficit to tie the game. Caleb White had 17 points and Elijah Hughes added 15 for the Pirates (15-18).
Ojeleye had 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half, when the Mustangs led by as many as 24 points.
His dunk and free throw started a 17-5 run that gave them their first double-digit lead at 24-13.
SMU hit 12 of its first 17 shots and went into halftime with a seemingly comfortable 43-21 lead.
But the Pirates outscored SMU 56-38 in the second half.
They trailed 63-45 with 7 minutes left before making their run.
A 3-pointer by White, followed by a steal and layup from Elijah Hughes on the inbounds, cut it to 71-69 with just over 3 minutes left.
SMU pushed the lead back to eight, but the Pirates rallied again and Hughes' 3-pointer tied the game at 77 with 57 seconds left.
But Ojeleye tipped in an offensive rebound on the other end and the ball went out off Barkley's fingertips and out of bounds as he was cutting for a layup on ECU's next possession, allowing the Mustangs to hang on.
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Team Stats
ECU
SMU
FG%
.413
.609
3FG%
.433
.333
FT%
.750
.724
RB
32
31
TO
11
16
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard/Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
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