PIrates' Second Half Rally Falls Short At South Florida, 75-69

Tuesday, December 31

Tampa, Fla.

3:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

8-6,0-1AAC

South Florida

8-6,1-0AAC

East Carolina

South Fla.

PIrates' Second Half Rally Falls Short At South Florida, 75-69

December 31, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Tampa, Fla. – Jordan Riley scored a game-high 20 points but East Carolina could not overcome a 20-point second half deficit as the Pirates' fell to South Florida 75-69 in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams at the Yuengling Center on New Year's Eve.

C.J. Walker and RJ Felton added 16 and 13 points respectively for the Pirates (8-6, 0-1 AAC) who have lost five of their last six games after nearly tying the largest deficit overcome for a victory since 1981.

Kobe Knox scored 18 points off the bench to lead South Florida (8-6, 1-0 AAC).

ECU struck first on a jumper from Riley but both teams combined to shoot 6-for-17 with no stoppage in play until the game's first media timeout at 13:17. The game remained locked at eight for two minutes until the Bulls pulled ahead 12-8 with 10:53 to go in the half.

The Pirates' field goal drought of 4:21 would be snapped on a three-pointer from Cam Hayes but South Florida extended their lead to 26-14 with an 8-0 run to force an ECU timeout. ECU answered with a run of their own, scoring six answered points and holding the Bulls scoreless for two minutes to cut the deficit to 26-20 with under four minutes to go.

ECU would undergo another field goal drought before the half, allowing the Bulls to go into the break ahead 34-25.

The Pirates opened the second half with back-to-back turnovers as the Bulls hit four of their first six shots of the half and eventually went ahead by as much as 20. ECU would fight back with a 14-2 run to pull back within single digits at 58-51.

After ECU pulled within five points, South Florida responded with a 6-0 burst to push their advantage back to double digits. The Pirates would continue to battle, cutting the deficit to five again after a Felton three and again after a free throw from Walker. Unfortunately, ECU would get no closer as South Florida held off the Pirates' second-half comeback attempt for the six-point win.

Game Notes

The Pirates nearly pulled off an historic comeback as the largest deficit overcome for a victory since 1981 was 20 points against South Dakota State on Nov. 23, 2009.
Jordan Riley's 20 points was a season-high.
Jordan Riley, C.J. Walker and RJ Felton each have 12 games this season in which they have scored double figures.
ECU falls to 2-9 in AAC openers.
Tybo Bailey made his first appearance in a game for the Pirates since Nov. 29 against N.C. A&T.
The Pirates' nine-point first half deficit was the second largest halftime deficit that the team has faced this season.
ECU has shot under 40 percent in the first half of its last four games as the Pirates shot just 29.6 percent in the first half against South Florida.
ECU lost its first game this season when outrebounding its opponent as the team was 7-0 when winning the battle on the glass.