Pirates Set To Compete In Boardwalk Battle

Game 5: East Carolina (4-0) vs. Jacksonville State (3-1)
Date \| Time	November 21, 2024 \| 3:30 p.m. ET
Location	Daytona Beach, Fla. \| Ocean Center
Game Program	Digital Game Program #2
Coverage	Stream: BallerTV ($) Radio: 107.9WNCT Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Jacksonville State \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Jacksonville State \| The American
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #1ECU

Daytona Beach, Fla. – East Carolina continues its season this week in Daytona Beach, Fla. as the Pirates will compete in the inaugural Boardwalk Battle Nov. 21-23 starting with Jacksonville State on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

All games in the tournament will be played in the Ocean Center and the tournament will be streamed on BallerTV (subscription required). Pirate fans can also tune in to 107.9 WNCT and 94.3 The Game for the Pirates' three contests with Daron Vaught handling play-by-play duties.

East Carolina will be joined in the Sunshine State by Jacksonville State, James Madison, Stetson, La Salle, UIC, Toledo and UC San Diego.

The winner of the ECU-Jacksonville State contest will play the winner of Stetson-Toledo on Friday at 5:30 p.m., while the loser will move to the consolation bracket for a 1 p.m. contest on Friday. The full bracket and schedule of the Boardwalk Battle can be viewed here.

The Pirates are led in scoring by All-AAC senior guard RJ Felton's 23.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. C.J. Walker (16.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Jordan Riley (14.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Cam Hayes (10.3 ppg, 4.3 apg) round out the Pirates' double-figure scorers. ECU is off to its best four-game start to a season since 2020-21.

Last Time Out
RJ Felton scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds as East Carolina gutted and grinded out a 78-77 double overtime win over George Mason on Saturday afternoon inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Jordan Riley (15 points, 10 rebounds) and C.J. Walker (12 points, 12 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles for the Pirates (4-0), who are off to their best start to a season since 2020-21. Jayshayne Woodard added 11 points in his first start of the season and Cam Hayes continued his strong play at the point with 10 points, five assists and only one turnover.

Scouting the Gamecocks
Jacksonville State is coming off a 71-53 win on the road against Coastal Carolina last Saturday behind a career-high 31 points from Jaron Pierre Jr. Pierre Jr. earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors and leads the Gamecocks in scoring with 25.8 points per game. Jamar Franklin (11.3 ppg), Michael Houge (11.0 ppg) and Mason Nicholson (10.3 ppg) provide supplementary scoring, and Jacksonville State boasts a stout defense, only allowing 60.3 points per game.

Series History
The all-time series between the Pirates and Gamecocks is tied at 2-2 as Thursday's meeting will be the first time since Dec. 18, 1999 that both schools have played one another. The Pirates dropped that contest in Greenville, 69-53. ECU won the first two meetings of the series, but Jacksonville State has taken the last two games. Thursday will be the first neutral site meeting of the series.

On This Date
The Pirates are 5-3 in games on Nov. 21 with the last game on this date coming just last year when ECU defeated Kennesaw State, 85-84, on a last-second heave to beat the buzzer on the final day of the TowneBank Holiday Classic.

Up Next
East Carolina will face either Toledo or Stetson at 1 or 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

RJ Felton

Cam Hayes

Jordan Riley

C.J. Walker

Jayshayne Woodard

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