Pirates Host UCF Wednesday

Game 16: UCF (10-4, 1-1 AAC) at East Carolina (10-5, 1-1 AAC)
Date \| Time	January 4, 2023 \| 7:00 p.m. ET
Location	Greenville, N.C. \| Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (7,100)
Game Program	Hoops Digest #3
Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9 WNCT
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| UCF \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| UCF \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2022-23 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #PurpleReign

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina men's basketball team returns to Minges Coliseum for a midweek matchup against the UCF Knights on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

The game will be streamed via ESPN+ with Patrick Johnson and Si Seymour on the call and can be heard on 107.9 WNCT.

Sophomore guard Javon Small leads the Pirates in scoring and assists with 16.6 and 5.5 per game respectively. Sophomore forward Brandon Johnson is averaging a near double-double with 12.5 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard RJ Felton is averaging double figures in scoring as well at 11.6 points per game and freshman forward Ezra Ausar leads the team in field goal percentage at 58 percent.

Last Time Out
Brandon Johnson scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds as East Carolina defeated Wichita State 79-69 on Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena. Ezra Ausar added 16 points for the Pirates and RJ Felton and Javon Small chipped in 13 and 14 points respectively. The win marked the Pirates' first over the Shockers and the team's first road win of the season.

Scouting The Knights
UCF is coming off a 71-65 loss on the road to then No. 3 Houston on Dec. 31. The Knights are led in scoring and on the boards by star freshman Taylor Hendricks at 14.8 ppg and 6.7 rpg. UCF's scoring defense currently ranks second in the American and 18th nationally at 60.4 points allowed per game.
The Knights are a team that can get it done on offense as well, especially from behind the arc, currently ranking first in the American in three-point percentage (.355) and second in three-pointers made per game at 8.21.

Series History
ECU is 9-28 all-time against UCF with the teams' last meeting occurring on Feb. 20, 2022, a 69-66 Knights win. UCF has won the last 14 meetings after the Pirates took the first three since joining the AAC.

On This Date
ECU is 9-9 in games played on Jan. 4 since the 1960-61 season. The last time the Pirates played on this date was a 78-76 loss to Southern Miss in Minges Coliseum in 2011.

The Voice Makes History
When the Pirates tip off against UCF on Wednesday, it will be a milestone for Jeff Charles, 'The Voice of the Pirates'. Charles will be calling his 1,000th Pirate basketball game and has been the play-by-play voice of Pirate Basketball since the 1988-89 season. Charles has worked with nine different head basketball coaches in his 35 years and covered ECU's appearance in the 1993 NCAA Tournament and CIT appearances including the 2013 CIT Championship season featuring Akeem Richmond's game-winning shot in the championship game. His signature saying, "You can paint this one purple" is synonymous with Pirate victories and is embraced by ECU fans everywhere. Charles was named the North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year in 2005 and 2012 and was recognized as an honorary alumnus of ECU in 2015.

Up Next
East Carolina goes back on the road for its next two games, beginning with a contest at Memphis on Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

RJ Felton

Brandon Johnson

Javon Small

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