ECU Welcomes UCF To Minges Tuesday Night

Game 17: UCF at East Carolina
Date \| Time	January 18, 2022 \| 7:00 p.m. ET
Location	Greenville, N.C. \| Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Game Program	Hoops Digest #3
Live Game Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9 WNCT \| TuneIn Radio Online
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| UCF
Game Notes	East Carolina \| UCF \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2021-22 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina puts its 10-0 home record on the line Tuesday night, clashing with UCF in an American Athletic Conference contest inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the contest will air on ESPN+.

The Pirates (11-5, 2-2 AAC) pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in program history Saturday, rallying from a 19-point first-half deficit to topple Memphis 72-71 on Brandon Suggs' baseline jumper as time expired. The victory snapped a six-game skid against the Tigers who were selected second in the preseason coaches poll and ranked in the top 25 earlier in the campaign.

Suggs and Vance Jackson finished the game with 17 points apiece while Jackson added seven rebounds and three assists. A trio of Pirates also notched double figures in the scoring column as Alanzo Frink, Tristen Newton and Tremont Robinson-White all posted 11-point efforts with Newton chipping in seven assists.

The Tigers fell off considerably in the shooting department after halftime, hitting 11 of 27 (40.7 percent) in the period to finish the night right at 50 percent (30 of 60) from the field. ECU fired at a 40.4-percent clip from the floor, connecting on 23 of 57 attempts. Memphis held a slight edge in the rebounding department at 37-35, but turned the ball over 17 times and went just four of 11 from the free throw line.

Newton continues to rank among the American Conference leaders in a number of categories, checking in at third in scoring average (17.3) and second in field goal percentage (.474), assists per game (5.2) and free throw percentage (.886). Jackson also paces the league in three-point field goal percentage (.444) while ranking 21st nationally.

Collectively, East Carolina has shared the ball very well as the Pirates top the AAC in assists per game (16.4) and are 30th nationally. ECU also paces the conference in scoring average in league games only – putting up 76.5 points per outing.

The Competition
UCF (10-5, 2-3 AAC) fell to South Florida 75-51 in Tampa Saturday. C.J. Walker notched a team-best nine points, but the Knights shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and were out-rebounded 53-26. UCF was also just 2 of 20 from three-point range. The Knights are 3-3 away from Orlando with wins over Miami (Fla.), Evansville and Temple as well as losses to Auburn, SMU and South Florida.

The UCF Series
UCF leads the series with East Carolina 26-9 and has won the last 12 meetings. The Pirates have not defeated the Knights since March 12, 2015 at the American Athletic Conference Tournament in Hartford - an 81-80 overtime decision.

Memphis Leftovers
The Pirates improved to 5-27 all time against Memphis ... ECU snapped the Tigers' 38-game winning streak when shooting at least 50 percent from the field ... East Carolina is 4-1 in games decided by three points or fewer ... ECU notched its third victory of the season when trailing at halftime ... The Pirates drained 10 three-point field goals for the second-straight contest and secured 10 steals for the fourth time this campaign ... East Carolina reached the 20-assist plateau for the third time in 2021-22 ... ECU has started its league schedule at 2-2 for the second time in the last three seasons ... Newton has scored in double figures in all but one contest this year.

Call it a Comeback
East Carolina's comeback victory from 19 points down marks the second-largest deficit ever overcome by the Pirates in program history. ECU also erased a 14-point halftime deficit - tied for the biggest since 1992.

Up Next
East Carolina hits the road for Houston, taking on the Cougars Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. inside the Fertitta Center.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alanzo Frink

Vance Jackson

Tristen Newton

Tremont Robinson-White

Brandon Suggs

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