ECU Snaps Five-Game Skid With Win Over Tulane

Thursday, January 31

Greenville, NC

7 PM

East Carolina University

9-11, 2-6

Tulane

4-16, 0-8

Tulane

ECU

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

January 31, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jayden Gardner led five players in double figures as ECU snapped a five-game losing streak with a 66-65 victory over Tulane inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Thursday.

Gardner had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead ECU (9-11, 2-6 American Athletic Conference). Seth LeDay added 13 points, Isaac Fleming scored 11 and Dimitrije Spasojevic had 10 for the Pirates, who won for the fifth time in the last six meetings between the teams.

Caleb Daniels had 17 points to lead four in double-figure scoring for Tulane (4-16, 0-8). Jordan Cornish finished with 10 points and five assists. It was the 10^th straight loss for the Green Wave.

Daniels scored five straight points to give Tulane a 54-53 lead with 5:29 to play. Gardner answered with a layup, Fleming scored the next five points and the Pirates had a 60-54 lead with 3:02 left.

"After we got a little rhythm and played out of some foul trouble the guys did a nice job of competing," ECU Head Coach Joe Dooley said. "Sometimes we can stand prosperity when we get to playing.

"Things weren't going well, we settled down and made some plays. I thought the guys stepped up and made the good basketball plays enabled us to win."
Cornish's 3-pointer pulled Tulane within two, 60-58, with 2:11 remaining. LeDay then made two free throws to push the lead back to two possessions as did Gardner with 13 seconds remaining.

After Daniels brought Tulane back within two with six seconds left, Shawn Williams calmly sank a pair of free throws with five seconds on the clock to seal the win before Cornish hit a 3 at the buzzer to end it.

The Pirates trailed by eight with 56 seconds left in the first half, but a basket by freshman Tae Hardy and a dunk from LeDay, cut their deficit in half entering intermission.

ECU forced 16 Tulane turnovers and converted them into 23 points, while it only committed seven turnovers, a season-low.

After being out-rebounded by 14 in the first half, the Pirates won the battle of the boards in second half by six and allowed just two second chance points in the final 20 minutes after yielding eight in the first.

The Pirates return to action Sunday, Feb. 3, against UCONN at the XL Center in Hartford. The game is schedule for 2 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNEWS.