Rivalry With UNCW Renews In Minges

Game Four: East Carolina vs. UNCW
Date \| Time	Dec. 7, 2020 \| 5:00 p.m.
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum)
Game Program	Hoops Digest #1
Live Game Coverage	Radio: WNCT 107.9FM \| TuneIn Radio Online Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Statistics	ECU \| UNCW
Game Notes	ECU \| UNCW
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. --- With only one day of preparation, East Carolina will quickly shift its focus to longtime rival UNCW whom it hosts Monday at 5 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum with both teams looking to extend their current winning streaks.

The Pirates, 3-0, are coming off a 63-50 win over Radford on Saturday which they suffocated the Highlanders defensively in the second half, holding them to just 26 percent shooting. Junior Jayden Gardner led ECU with 20 points and freshman Noah Farrakhan added 11.

Gardner has averaged 21.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game to lead his team in both categories. Sophomore Tristen Newton has put up 9.3 points, five rebounds and 2.3 steals per contest.

"I've never been 3-0 here, so I'm ecstatic," Gardner said. "I just want to keep it going and get used to this feeling and keep winning. … So far, our communication has been really good, and offense has been really good. We're learning on defense and had a really good second half on defense."

UNCW will take to the court for the first time in more than a week following a 10-day layoff for final exams. The Seahawks opened the season with a loss to Western Carolina but scored back-to-back wins over UNC Asheville and Troy to win the Mako Medical Asheville Classic.

For the Seahawks, Jaylen Sims has averaged 26.7 points and 6.7 rebounds while Mike Okauru has put up 11.7 points and seven rebounds. Sims connected on 66.7 percent of the 18 3-pointers he attempted and made 12 of 18 over the first three games.

UNCW's Ty Gadsden has attempted 15 3-pointers and connected on 40 percent of them and is 6 for 15 this season.

The Seahawks are shooting 40 percent as team from outside the arc this season, but the Pirates are holding their opponents to 26 percent from 3.

"They're going to put their head down and drive it," ECU Head Coach Joe Dooley said. "They've got four guys averaging double figure points. They're going to be very aggressive offensively. They do like to play fast. We're going to have to find Sims, he's on a roll. He's on about as good an offensive roll as I've seen in a while."

ECU is forcing an average of 15.7 turnovers per game and have turned the ball over only 9.7 times per game this season. It has committed a turnover on just 14.5 percent of its possessions this season, which is the second-best rate among all American conference teams.

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Players Mentioned

Noah Farrakhan

Jayden Gardner

Tristen Newton

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