ECU Rallies to Defeat Mercer, 77-75

Tuesday, November 8

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

1-0,0-0AAC

Mercer

0-1,0-0SoCon

Mercer

East Carolina

November 08, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Brandon Johnson scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds as East Carolina rallied from a 16-point first half deficit to defeat Mercer 77-75 on Tuesday night at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.

The win marked the first career victory for first-year head coach Michael Schwartz and extended the Pirates' win streak in season opening games to 23.

Javon Small added a career-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 3-of-7 from behind the arc and RJ Felton chipped in 11 points and four rebounds for ECU (1-0).

Jalyn McCreary scored 18 points and added five rebounds to lead Mercer (0-1). Shawn Walker Jr. and Luis Hurtado added 12 and 10 points respectively.

Both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the first half before Mercer took a 10-6 lead at the first media timeout. The Bears extended their lead to the largest of the game at 37-21 with 2:42 left in first half but the Pirates gained momentum converting two turnovers into points to go into the locker room down 39-30.

The Pirates took that momentum into the second half, closing the gap to 55-54 before taking the lead for good on an and-one from Javon Small at the 8:08 mark. Quentin Diboundje hit two clutch free throws for his only points of the game and Ezra Ausar grabbed the game-clinching rebound to secure the win.

In the second half, ECU shot 60 percent from the floor and 55 percent from behind the arc to outscore Mercer 47-36 in route to the two-point victory.

Despite being outscored in the paint 38-32 and giving up 16 second chance points, the Pirates outrebounded the Bears on the glass 37-33 and knocked down four more three-pointers to pull out the win.

Up Next
The Pirates return to Minges Coliseum to face Presbyterian on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.