Oklahoma Escapes East Carolina, 79-74

Thursday, November 18

Conway, S.C.

7 P.M.

East Carolina University

3-1,0-0AAC

Oklahoma

3-0,0-0Big 12

Oklahoma

East Carolina

November 18, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

CONWAY, S.C. – East Carolina fell for the first time in 2021-22 Thursday night, opening the Myrtle Beach Invitational with a narrow 79-74 loss to Big 12 Conference member Oklahoma inside Coastal Carolina University's HTC Center.

The Pirates (3-1) will face off against Old Dominion, which dropped a 77-36 decision to Indiana State in its tourney opener, Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. The Sooners (3-0) remain unbeaten and advance to tomorrow's semifinals.

"We did some good things," head coach Joe Dooley said. "At the start of the game we gave up way too many easy baskets. On ball screen situations and rolls, we got caught on the wrong side - something we've worked a lot on. With that said, they put us in some bad spots. We've got to recognize and guard those. We did a good job of fighting back."

Oklahoma, which had outscored its first two opponents by an average of 35 points per game, got the better of ECU on the glass by a 31-23 margin and knocked down 21 of 27 attempts from the foul line. The teams ended up virtually even in the overall shooting department as the Pirates hit 27 of 51 attempts (52.9 percent) while the Sooners connected on 25 of 48 (52.1 percent). The performance marked the first time since 2015 that East Carolina has produced at least 50-percent efficiency from the field in consecutive games. The battle down low was a deadlock as well with both squads netting 30 points in the paint.

Tristen Newton, the Pirates' leading scorer entering the evening, led all players with 18 points while Brandon Suggs and Tremont Robinson-White added 14 and 12 respectively. Suggs also tied his career high with six assists to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Jordan Goldwire and Umoja Gibson notched 13 points each to pace five Oklahoma players who scored in double figures.

A three by Gibson saw Oklahoma grab an early 9-2 advantage with 3:30 gone in the contest. However, a 13-5 run over the next four minutes and change spurred by points from five different Pirates, put East Carolina ahead for the first time at 15-14. A big triple by Alanzo Frink from the right wing kept the Pirates in front 22-19 midway through the half and ECU would not relinquish the lead the next several minutes.

Ludgy Debaut corralled an offensive rebound and found Vance Jackson for a three in the corner with 6:03 on the clock that made the score 30-26 in favor of East Carolina, but the Sooners answered with a 9-5 run down to the 2:40 mark, affording Oklahoma a brief two-point advantage at 37-35. Newton scored a bucket and hit a free throw during the final stretch of the stanza to swing the lead back the Pirates' way, however, Elijah Harkless dropped in a layup at the buzzer to send the Sooners to the intermission with a 39-38 edge.

Defense was the calling card for ECU in the initial 20 minutes, forcing 10 Oklahoma turnovers that resulted in seven Pirate points, but the Sooners shot 65 percent (15-for-23) from the field. East Carolina kept pace though by firing at a 57.1 clip (16-for-28). Newton paced the Pirates offensively in the half with seven points while Groves checked in with nine of his own to lead Oklahoma.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Groves was the catalyst for a quick 5-0 run that forced ECU to utilize a timeout just 1:15 into the second half. J.J. Miles answered with a turnaround jumper and Newton was good on two free throws that cut the deficit right back to a pair at 44-42.

Oklahoma threatened to pull away, extending its lead to 53-44 with 15:52 to play following a pair of free throws by Jalen Hill. Unfazed, the Pirates hung tough and drew within five at 66-61 at the 7:01 mark thanks to a Robinson-White triple. However, the Sooners had just enough down the stretch to hold on for the victory. Newton knocked down a three with 11 ticks remaining on the clock to make it 77-74 before Goldwire dropped in two from the foul line to account for the final score.

"There are some positives on which we can build," Dooley added. "There were some things we hadn't done yet. The speed of Oklahoma is a little quicker than what we've seen so far. Now we have to get adjusted to some things and correct it. We've got to make sure we can clean up some of these situations."