Pirates Fall At Home To SMU, 75-64

Saturday, January 13

Greenville, N.C.

4:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

9-8,2-2AAC

SMU

11-5,2-1AAC

SMU

East Carolina

January 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Ezra Ausar scored a career-high 25 points but East Carolina's second-half comeback fell short as the Pirates lost to SMU 75-64 on Saturday afternoon inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

Ausar added eight rebounds and two steals for the Pirates (9-8, 2-2 AAC), who saw their two-game winning streak come to a halt. RJ Felton added 15 points and Cam Hayes scored 12 to round out ECU's double-figure scorers.

Zhuric Phelps led SMU (11-5, 2-1 AAC) with 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

ECU would get on the board first on a Bobby Pettiford Jr. layup in the opening seconds of the game, but the Mustangs would score seven unanswered points to go in front. The Pirates would close the gap to 20-18 with 7:38 to go in the first half but SMU would use a 13-2 spurt to force a Pirates timeout with under four minutes to go.

The Mustangs would enter the half with a nine-point lead after grabbing nine offensive rebounds and forcing seven ECU turnovers.

The Pirates would make it 38-30 after a second chance basket from Felton but SMU would push its lead to its largest of the game at 18 points with 13:49 remaining in the second half. ECU would cut the Mustangs' lead to 10 multiple times in the final seven minutes of the game, but SMU would have an answer for every Pirate run down the stretch.

Up Next
East Carolina concludes its two-game homestand on Wednesday, Jan. 13 against North Texas at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.