Pirates Sunk By East Tennessee State, 86-70

Friday, December 29

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

7-6,0-0AAC

East Tennessee State

8-5,0-0SoCon

ETSU

East Carolina

December 29, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Brandon Johnson led the Pirates with 19 points and nine rebounds, but East Carolina was defeated by East Tennessee State 86-70 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Friday night.

The Pirates had four scorers in double figures including Johnson, RJ Felton (17 points), Bobby Pettiford Jr. (12 points) and Ezra Ausar (12 points) but were unable to contain the Buccaneers' offense for the majority of the night.

Despite attempting nine more free throws, the Pirates shot only 65 percent (21-32) while the Buccaneers converted on 96 percent of their attempts (22-23).

Jaden Seymour scored a game-high 24 points to lead ETSU (8-5) and Quimari Peterson added 21 points.

After falling behind early, East Carolina would take the lead with 14:46 to go in the first half on a Johnson jumper and both teams would exchange leads three times and tie five times over the next six minutes with the game being locked at 23-23 with 8:03 to go. The Pirates would go without a field goal for the final 2:44 of the first half and ETSU would take advantage with a 7-1 run to give ECU it's largest halftime deficit of the season at 44-35.

The Bucs would use another 7-1 run coming out of the locker room to extend their lead to 15, prompting a quick Pirates timeout. ECU would find itself in a 19-point hole with 14:58 remaining but the Pirates would attempt to rally, cutting the lead to 12 twice and getting within 10 points with 5:36 left in the second half.

The Pirates could not get any closer as ETSU would answer every ECU run and the Buccaneers would hit all of their free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Up Next
The Pirates turn their attention to conference play as the team heads to Boca Raton, Fla. to face No. 7 Florida Atlantic on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.