Gameday: Pirates Host Cincinnati In First Conference Home Game

Game 14: vs. Cincinnati
Date:	Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019
Time:	1 p.m. (ET)
Location:	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum)
Tickets & Parking:	Game Tickets \| Parking Information
Live Game Coverage:	Radio: WNCT 107.9 FM \| TuneIn Radio Online Television: CBS Sports Network
Internet Options:	Live Stats
Game Notes:	ECU \| Cincinnati \| The American

GREENVILLE, N.C. --- After opening the conference season with a road loss at SMU Wednesday night, ECU returns to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday as it hosts reigning league champion Cincinnati at 1 p.m.

A limited number of Lower Bowl tickets are available for purchase for only $5.

ECU is 7-2 at home this season with its two losses coming by a combined four points, losing by one on a buzzer-beater against James Madison and suffering a three-point loss to High Point.

"We've got a great home court advantage and it will be good to get back out there in Minges," Pirate head coach Joe Dooley said. "We need to put a good product on the court, but I think they can help us win games."

Leading Dooley's product on the court this season has been freshman Jayden Gardner, who leads the Pirates and ranks second in The American in both scoring (18.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg). He also has the highest PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in the league at 29.2.

Gardner has led the Pirates in scoring 10 of the last 11 games, including the previous contest against SMU with 16 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Tyler Foster added 11 points, while sophomore Shawn Williams, ECU's second leading scorer, was held under double-digit points for the first time this season.

Cincinnati opened league play with a 93-61 rout of Tulane Wednesday night to improve to 12-2 on the season. Junior guard Jarron Cumberland led the Bearcats with 22 points and senior point guard Justin Jenifer added a career-high 18.

Cumberland leads the Bearcats with 16.6 points per game followed by sophomore Keith Williams at 10.9 points per game. Jenifer ranked first in the nation entering Thursday with a 9.67-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has 58 assists with six turnovers this season.

Cumberland and Jenifer rank one and two in The American in 3-point shooting percentage with each firing at over a 47 percent clip.

"They are what your program should be," Dooley said. "The younger guys in the program - guys like Jenifer - fought their way through for three years, didn't play a ton of minutes, and now as a senior is a key contributor. They've got experienced guys. The guys they have in their program have been through wars. They plug another guy in. Cumberland has fought through deals. (Nysier) Brooks and (Tre) Scott and those guys are now getting opportunities to play and then (Cane) Broome coming off the bench, they're experienced."

The Pirates will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak to Cincinnati, whom they have defeated just once in 13 all-time meetings.

Gameday: Pirates Host Cincinnati In First Conference Home Game

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Foster

Jayden Gardner

Shawn Williams

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