Pirates Prevail Over Tulsa, 62-57

Sunday, January 7

Greenville, N.C.

3:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

8-7,1-1AAC

Tulsa

9-5,0-2AAC

Tulsa

East Carolina

January 07, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Brandon Johnson scored 17 points including a go-ahead three-pointer with 55 seconds left as East Carolina defeated Tulsa 62-57 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

Ezra Ausar and RJ Felton each added 14 points for the Pirates (8-7, 1-1 AAC), who snapped a two-game skid with the win.

Cobe Williams led Tulsa (9-5, 0-2 AAC) with a game-high 18 points and PJ Haggerty added 16 points.

The Pirates would get off to another fast start, opening the game on a 7-2 run to force a quick Golden Hurricane timeout at the 17:55 mark of the first half. ECU would take its largest lead of the first half at 10-4 before Tulsa would counter with an 11-2 run to go in front 15-12.

Despite forcing 12 first half turnovers from the Golden Hurricane and attempting 11 more shots, ECU would find itself down 32-29 heading into the locker room.

ECU would quickly retake the lead to start the second half and both teams would trade blows in a half that featured seven ties and five lead changes. After taking a 57-53 lead on back-to-back baskets from Cam Hayes, Tulsa would respond to knot the game at 57-57 with 1:38 remaining.

Johnson would nail the go-ahead shot at the shot clock buzzer to put ECU back in front and Felton sank two free throws to give ECU its first conference win of the season.

Up Next
East Carolina hits the road for a quick turnaround at Temple on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.