ECU Closes Quick Road Swing At Cincinnati

Game 15: East Carolina at Cincinnati
Date \| Time	January 12, 2022 \| 7:00 p.m. ET
Location	Cincinnati, Ohio (Fifth-Third Arena)
Game Program	Hoops Digest #3
Live Game Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9 WNCT \| TuneIn Radio Online
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Cincinnati
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Cincinnati \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2021-22 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina plays its second-straight road game Wednesday night when it travels to Cincinnati for an American Athletic Conference contest inside Fifth-Third Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

The Pirates' bid to open their league schedule at 2-0 was thwarted by Temple in Philadelphia Saturday as the Owls knocked off the Pirates 78-75 via a buzzer-beating three-point field goal by current AAC Player of the Week Damian Dunn.

Alanzo Frink scored a season-high 15 points as one of three ECU players in double figures. Tremont Robinson-White added 14 while Vance Jackson finished with 12 and a team-best six rebounds. Tristen Newton also chipped in with a career-high nine assists to go along with eight points and six rebounds.

East Carolina shot over 50 percent from the field for the fourth time this season, connecting on 26 of 51 attempts (51 percent), while also outrebounding Temple by a 29-27 margin. ECU also hit 16 of 17 free-throw attempts (94.1 percent). The Owls fired at a 49-percent clip (28 of 57) from the floor and matched the Pirates with seven three-point field goals.

ECU and Cincinnati met in the regular season finale last season in Greenville as the Bearcats came away with an 82-69 victory. Jeremiah Davenport and Mason Madsen led four Cincinnati players in double figures with 19 points each while Jayden Gardner paced the Pirates with 23 points. Newton and Brandon Suggs scored 13 points apiece. Suggs also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Newton, who was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll Monday, is building quite the all-conference resume halfway through the campaign. He ranks third in the league in scoring average (18.2) as well as second in field goal percentage (.486), assists per game (5.1) and free throw percentage (.875). Newton produced a monster effort in the win over Tulane last week, netting a career-high 32 points of which he scored 28 in the second half and overtime period. Vance Jackson and Suggs also average double figures in the scoring column at 10.9 and 10.4 points per game respectively.

Collectively, East Carolina slots fourth in the conference in scoring average (73.9) while also topping the league in assists per game (16.3), ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (.367) and sitting third in free throw percentage (.754), assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and three-point field goals made per game (8.0).

The Competition
Cincinnati (11-5, 1-2 AAC) fell just short in an entertaining contest at Memphis Sunday, dropping an 87-80 decision to the Tigers at FedEx Forum. The Bearcats went 16-for-30 from deep, matching a FedExForum collegiate record for made threes. Jeremiah Davenport made his first seven attempts from beyond the arc, a career high, to finish with a game-best 21 points. Davenport paces the squad in scoring average at 13.1 points per contest.

Cincinnati is one of the more prolific defensive squads in the American Conference, ranking second in the league in field goal percentage defense (.376) and third in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 62.2 points per outing.

The Cincinnati Series
Cincinnati leads the series with East Carolina by a 15-2 count. The Pirates have dropped their last three against the Bearcats, including an 82-69 decision in the teams' last encounter back on March 7, 2021 in Greenville.

Temple Leftovers
The Pirates fell to 4-8 all-time against Temple ... East Carolina played its first true road game of the season ... The Pirates moved to 8-3 when leading at the half ... Frink's 15-point output was his second double-figure scoring effort of the campaign ... Newton did not net double-digit points for the first time in 2021-22 ... ECU set a program record for free throws made without a miss (15) ... East Carolina shot 94.1 percent from the free throw line - the best showing of head coach Joe Dooley's tenure ... The Pirates fell for just the second time this season when outshooting its opponent ... The setback was ECU's first in a contest decided by three points or less this campaign.

Up Next
East Carolina returns home Saturday, Jan. 15, for its Paint it Purple game against Memphis.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alanzo Frink

Jayden Gardner

Vance Jackson

Tristen Newton

Tremont Robinson-White

Brandon Suggs

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