
Turnovers Plague ECU In Loss At Tulane
January 02, 2021 | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS – East Carolina committed a season-high 21 turnovers and shot just 37 percent from the field as Tulane defeated the Pirates 60-56 Saturday afternoon at Fogelman Arena inside the Devlin Fieldhouse.
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Jaylen Forbes led a trio of Tulane (6-2, 1-2 The American) players in double figures with 20 points while Gabe Watson had 13 points and Jordan Walker added 10 points. Kevin Cross had seven rebounds.Â
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The loss ends the Pirates' overall six-game winning streak in the series, which included a 68-58 win 11 days ago, and seven-game winning streak over the Green Wave in New Orleans.
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Brandon Suggs had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates (7-2, 1-2) and J.J. Miles added 11 points. Jayden Gardner, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting of the season, was limited to five points on 1 of 5 shooting with seven rebounds.
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"I was very disappointed with the way we played," Pirate head coach Joe Dooley said. "We've got to do a better job of preparing these guys. That being said, when you're minus-16 from the free throw line and minus-14 in the (points off) turnover game, that puts you minus-30. I'm amazed we were still in the game and able to hang around to tell you the truth."
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Tulane scored 21 points off 21 Pirate turnovers and made 20 of 23 free throw attempts.
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ECU forced just 12 turnovers, which led to seven points, and only made seven trips to the charity stripe where it made six foul shots.
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ECU used the 3-point shot to stay in the game, sinking 10 of 26 attempts with Suggs hitting 4 of 5 and Bitumba Baruti 3 of 6.
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Tulane led wire-to-wire, but it was never able to extend its lead to double figures. The Green Wave's biggest lead came with 13:20 to play as Watson's pull-up jumper gave it a 39-30 advantage.
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Twice the Pirates got within a single point but were never to hurdle Tulane for the lead.
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Miles made it a one-point game, 51-50, with 1:37 to play, but Tulane's Sion James answered with a 3-point on the ensuing possession 26 seconds later.
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"We were right there," Dooley said. "We had every opportunity. They made some plays to keep us in the game also. James hitting that 3 from the corner was a big shot. We had it down to one and he hadn't made one on the season, and he made the shot. It was a big play in a late clock situation. But to turn the ball over like we did, and the way we turned it over, we haven't done that all season."
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Needing points on its following possession, ECU turned it over and Walker began his parade to the free throw line, making 6 of 6 foul shots in the final 35 seconds.Â
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Team Stats
ECU
Tulane
FG%
.370
.362
3FG%
.385
.316
FT%
.857
.870
RB
35
31
TO
21
12
STL
4
13
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Mike Schwartz Presser
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Inside Pirate Athletics (Feb. 26, 2024)
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ECU Presser vs Charlotte
Saturday, February 03
Inside Pirate Athletics (Jan. 29, 2024)
Tuesday, January 30