Pirates Surge Past Tulsa, 76-66

Tuesday, January 24

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

11-10,2-6AAC

Tulsa

5-14,1-7AAC

Tulsa

East Carolina

January 24, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Brandon Johnson scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds as East Carolina used a second-half surge on offense to defeat Tulsa 76-66 on Tuesday night at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.

Johnson's 24 points tied his career-high and RJ Felton added 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting for the Pirates (11-10, 2-6 AAC) who snapped their five-game skid with the win. Benjamin Bayela chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds and Kalib LaCount turned in eight points and four assists.

Bryant Selebangue led Tulsa (5-14, 1-7 AAC) with his eighth double-double of the season of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

ECU got on the scoreboard first on a nifty layup from LaCount and both teams would exchange baskets going into the first media timeout with the Pirates ahead 9-8. The Golden Hurricane would force seven Pirate turnovers and shoot 52 percent in the first half to earn a 32-27 lead at the half.

Tulsa would score first coming out of the break to take its largest lead of the game at seven points. Trailing 43-37 at the 13:57 mark of the second half, ECU would go on a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 46-43 and force a Tulsa timeout with 9:13 remaining in the game.

The Golden Hurricane would take a brief two point lead as Felton and Bayela would combine for an 11-0 run to put ECU up by nine and ahead for good to secure its seventh home win of the season.

Up Next
The Pirates will face Wichita State inside Minges Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 29 at noon on ESPNU.