Pirates Rally To Defeat Temple In Overtime, 70-64

Sunday, January 28

Greenville, N.C.

5:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

11-10,4-4AAC

Temple

8-13,1-7AAC

OT 1

Temple

East Carolina

January 28, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – RJ Felton scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as East Carolina overcame an off-shooting night and rallied to defeat Temple in overtime 70-64 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Sunday evening.

Bobby Pettiford Jr. and Jaden Walker added 12 and 10 points respectively for ECU (11-10, 4-4 AAC) who shot a season-low 31 percent from the floor but forced timely turnovers into baskets in the second half to force overtime.

The Pirates are off to their best eight-game start in AAC play since joining the league in 2014-15 and have won multiple back-to-back AAC games in a season for the first time.

Jordan Riley led Temple (8-13, 1-7 AAC) with 20 points.

After taking an early 10-4 lead over the Owls in the opening minutes, the Pirates would miss nine of their next 10 shots, allowing Temple to creep back in the game and eventually take its first lead after a Sam Hofman three made it 24-23 with less than two minutes to go in the first half. Felton and Pettiford would score back-to-back baskets to give ECU a 27-26 edge going into the break.

Both teams would combine to shoot 35 percent from the floor in the first half.

ECU would come out strong to begin the second half, taking a 33-26 lead on two Ezra Ausar free throws but the Pirates would go cold again as they missed their next nine shots until Valentino Pinedo scored at the 11:36 mark of the second half.

After neither team could pull ahead by more than four points, Temple looked to have the game sealed with a 57-49 lead after a Miller free throw with 3:19 to go in the game. ECU would not go away as a three-point play from Felton injected new life into the Pirates as the team forced two huge turnovers into points and ended the game on a 9-3 run capped off by two huge free throws from Felton with only 10 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Jaden Walker would open the extra period with a three-point play and Pettiford would convert on a layup with 24 seconds remaining to seal the comeback win for the Pirates.

Game Notes

RJ Felton extended his double-figure scoring streak to 13 consecutive games with his 24 points.
Felton recorded his third double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
Sunday night's game was the first overtime game for the Pirates in over two years with the last game coming on Jan. 18, 2022 when ECU lost at home to UCF, 92-85.
It was ECU's first overtime win since Jan. 5, 2022 when the Pirates defeated Tulane 88-80 at home.
The Pirates have attempted 30 or more free throws in six games this season after tonight's 32 attempts.
Bencao Vungo saw five minutes off the bench in his first game with the Pirates.

Up Next
East Carolina hosts South Florida on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.