Wednesday, January 4
Greenville, N.C.
7:00 P.M.
East Carolina University
10-6,1-2AAC
61
vs
64
UCF
11-4,2-1AAC
1
2
F
UCF
25
39
64
East Carolina
27
34
61
Pirates Fall to UCF, 64-61
January 04, 2023 | Men's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – RJ Felton and Brandon Johnson each scored 16 points but East Carolina fell 64-61 to UCF on Wednesday night at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.
Ezra Ausar added 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Pirates (10-6, 1-2 AAC) who dropped their second straight home game.
C.J. Kelly scored a game-high 30 points for the Knights (11-4, 2-1 AAC) and Taylor Hendricks added 12 points and five rebounds.
The Pirates struck first on a Felton three and both teams struggled to gain any separation until UCF pulled ahead 17-10 after making back-to-back threes to force a Pirate timeout. Consecutive three-pointers from Johnson would get ECU back into the game and the Pirates would pull ahead 21-20 after a Wynston Tabbs three with 8:31 remaining in the first half.
The Pirates would cap off an 8-0 run on a layup from Ludgy Debaut to go ahead by six but UCF would score five of the game's next six points to make it 27-25. Both teams would go scoreless in the final 4:14 as the Pirates took two-point lead going into the locker room.
UCF would take its largest lead of the game at 55-46 with 4:31 remaining in the second half but the Pirates would battle back with a 12-5 run to cut the Knights' lead to two and bring the crowd at Minges to its feet. UCF would make four of its next five free throws to clinch the win as the Pirates' last two shots to send the game to overtime fell short at the buzzer.
Up Next
East Carolina begins its two-game road trip on Saturday, Jan. 7 with a matchup against Memphis at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Ezra Ausar added 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Pirates (10-6, 1-2 AAC) who dropped their second straight home game.
C.J. Kelly scored a game-high 30 points for the Knights (11-4, 2-1 AAC) and Taylor Hendricks added 12 points and five rebounds.
The Pirates struck first on a Felton three and both teams struggled to gain any separation until UCF pulled ahead 17-10 after making back-to-back threes to force a Pirate timeout. Consecutive three-pointers from Johnson would get ECU back into the game and the Pirates would pull ahead 21-20 after a Wynston Tabbs three with 8:31 remaining in the first half.
The Pirates would cap off an 8-0 run on a layup from Ludgy Debaut to go ahead by six but UCF would score five of the game's next six points to make it 27-25. Both teams would go scoreless in the final 4:14 as the Pirates took two-point lead going into the locker room.
UCF would take its largest lead of the game at 55-46 with 4:31 remaining in the second half but the Pirates would battle back with a 12-5 run to cut the Knights' lead to two and bring the crowd at Minges to its feet. UCF would make four of its next five free throws to clinch the win as the Pirates' last two shots to send the game to overtime fell short at the buzzer.
Up Next
East Carolina begins its two-game road trip on Saturday, Jan. 7 with a matchup against Memphis at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Team Stats
UCF
ECU
FG%
.431
.351
3FG%
.333
.296
FT%
.833
.591
RB
38
32
TO
13
9
STL
2
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF
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