Pirates 'Paint It Purple' Over Cincinnati, 75-71

Wednesday, February 15

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

13-12,4-8AAC

Cincinnati

17-10,8-6AAC

Cincinnati

East Carolina

February 15, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Brandon Johnson scored 16 points and RJ Felton scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half as East Carolina rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to stun Cincinnati 75-71 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Ezra Ausar recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Pirates (13-12, 4-8 AAC) and Quentin Diboundje added 13 points and six rebounds. Jaden Walker rounded out the Pirates' double figure scorers with 10 points and added four assists.

Jeremiah Davenport and Landers Nolley II each scored a game-high 19 points for the Bearcats (17-10, 8-6 AAC).

The 16-point comeback marks ECU's fourth double-digit rally of the season and is tied for the 10^th largest comeback in program history since 1981.

After struggling on offense for first part the first half, the Pirates would cut the Bearcats lead down to one on a putback dunk from Walker to excite the Minges crowd and force a Cincinnati timeout with 9:09 until halftime. ECU would go ahead 21-20 on a Felton jump shot but Cincinnati would respond with back-to-back threes from Davenport to gain some separation as the Bearcats would go into the break ahead 37-29.

Cincinnati would take its largest lead at 65-49 after another Davenport three but the Pirates would go on a 17-2 run to get within one point and pull all the momentum back to the purple and gold. ECU would finally complete its comeback as Felton would drill a jumper with 57 seconds left and Johnson would score in the paint with 16 seconds left to seal the win.

Up Next
The Pirates will hit the road for their next two contests beginning with SMU on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.