East Carolina Rolls Past Canisius, 83-71

Friday, November 12

Greenville, N.C.

7 P.M.

East Carolina University

2-0,0-0AAC

Canisius

0-2,0-0MAAC

Canisius

East Carolina

November 12, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina rode its best shooting performance of the young season to an 83-71 victory over Canisius Friday night inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The Pirates (2-0) shot 50 percent in the first half and withstood a .483 showing by the Golden Griffins (0-2) in the second stanza to remain unbeaten and clinch their 12th-straight non-conference win.

Tristen Newton and Brandon Suggs paced ECU with 14 points apiece while Tremont Robinson-White, Brandon Johnson and Alanzo Frink added 12, 11 and 11 respectively. Newton, Frink and Johnson also tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven each. Robinson-White dished out six assists to bring his campaign total to 15.

Armon Harried topped the visitors offensively with 22 points and Siem Uijtendaal heated up the second half, knocking down four three-point field goals to finish with 15 points.

In addition to its solid shooting prowess from the field, East Carolina drained 20 of 22 free throw attempts and out-rebounded Canisius by a 45-34 margin. The Golden Griffins were able to slice into what was once a 29-point Pirate second-half advantage by knocking down eight threes in the second half. ECU out-scored Canisius 36-10 in the paint to negate the Golden Griffins' 20 points off 19 Pirate turnovers.

Vance Jackson drilled a triple just over three minutes into the contest to put East Carolina up 13-6. The Pirates would eventually extend the lead to nine at 25-16 when Robinson-White scored a driving layup and the home side started to pull away from there. A three by Ludgy Debaut got the crowd going as ECU took a 35-22 advantage with 4:36 to play and the margin never dipped below 10 the rest of the half. Robinson-White popped in a pair of free throw attempts to make it 47-26 heading into intermission. The 21-point lead tied for the largest of head coach Joe Dooley's tenure in Greenville.

Canisius was ice cold in the first half, shooting just 18.2 percent (6-for-33) while East Carolina hit 18 of 36 attempts from the field. Harried scored a game-high 12 points in the first 20 minutes as Robinson-White paced the Pirates with nine. ECU also registered 13 assists in the initial stanza.

Newton connected on a three just 2:19 into the second half to push the Pirate lead to 20 at 53-33. The Golden Griffins whittled the deficit under 20 a couple of a times, but East Carolina quickly put the advantage back in the 20s as Frink hit two free throws to make it a 64-41 contest. With the Pirates up by as much as 29 with 8:43 to go, Uijtendaal started to find his range from deep and helped the visitors reduce the ECU lead to 14 at the 5:04 mark. East Carolina was able to hang on in the end, closing the night out with the double-digit margin still intact.

Up Next: ECU faces a quick turnaround, hosting Western Carolina Sunday at 4 p.m.

Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Joe Dooley:

Opening Statement:
"Well, we did more good things than bad. Obviously to get out to the start that we did, I thought the guys did a nice job pressuring the ball, getting into transition and rebounding. It all started on the defensive end which made our offense better because we got good shots and were able to run. The last eight minutes were a bit of a debacle, but also credit to Canisius. They continued to fight but we have to finish better. I think some of the younger guys learned something about how to finish. But overall, it was better."

On the Rebounding Advantage and Causing 20 Turnovers:
"We had segments where we played really well. We also had some where we didn't. It really helped us get into transition, but we had a couple chances where we just turned it over. It was ridiculous. Just finish the play and don't be cute. We also turned it over 19 times, which is not what we do. We need to get that number down to nine or 10. We did have 19 assists which is a good number. We also shot well from the free throw line, but our second half defense was bad and they made us pay."

On the Team's Effort
"Yeah, it looked like more effort, but we also looked more comfortable. Tuesday, I thought our opponent played really well, but tonight we were the aggressor and played more confidently."

On the Team's Free Throw Shooting:
"It makes your life a lot easier. They say making shots covers a multitude of sins and guys made shots. They also shared the ball, despite getting a little cute sometimes. We just need to clean that up and we will."

On Getting Wynston Tabbs Back:
"It's a day-to-day deal. It will really help us though. We add a proven player who put up real numbers in the ACC. He's competitive and can guard so it will be good to continue to add depth."

Sophomore Guard/Forward Brandon Suggs

On Canisius:
"Coach told us they were going to crash the glass and be very aggressive. Also, they are very persistent with their offense. They like to run the same offense, so we were working a lot on that and really focused on boxing out at practice."

On Having Five Score in Double Figures:
"Yeah, that's always good. Getting good shots. We were feeling great in warmups, everybody talking and knocking down shots. So, we felt it would be good night."

On Letting the 29-point Lead Slip to 12:
"That can't happen. When you are up like that you kind of get bored with success. We slacked off a little bit and allowed them to hit some threes and get into transition. But coach called a timeout, talked to us and settled us down."

Sophomore Guard Tristen Newton

On His Scoring Output:
"Really it was defense. I got most of my points in transition. It says I shot five of nine, and four of those were layups in transition. Really it all started on defense."

On Getting Everyone Involved:
"Well, we have been practicing since the summer so it just takes time. Some people weren't here like [Alanzo Frink] and [Marlon Lestin]. So, we have been practicing for four to five months, running the same offense and it is just normal now."