Pirates Fall To South Florida In AAC Quarterfinals, 81-59

Friday, March 15

Fort Worth, Texas

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

15-18,7-11AAC

South Florida

24-6,16-2AAC

East Carolina

South Fla.

Pirates Fall To South Florida In AAC Quarterfinals, 81-59

March 15, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Fort Worth, Texas – RJ Felton was one of three Pirates in double figures with a team-high 16 points but East Carolina could not overcome a first-half three-point barrage from South Florida as the Pirates fell 81-59 in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship at Dickies Arena on Friday afternoon.

Brandon Johnson recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season for the Pirates (15-18, 7-11 AAC) and Ezra Ausar added 12 points and nine boards.

Selton Miguel and Kobe Knox each tallied 17 points for the Bulls (24-6, 16-2 AAC).

ECU would strike first on a Felton three-pointer just 10 seconds into the game, but South Florida would catch fire, making four of their next five shots to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 15-7 lead going into the first media timeout at the 15:04 mark.

The Bulls would stretch their lead to 12 in the latter stages of the first half, but the Pirates would cut the Bulls' lead to seven after a Johnson three with 4:38 remaining in the half. South Florida would quickly answer with scores on three consecutive possessions to push their lead back to 12 and force a Pirate timeout.

South Florida would take its largest lead of the half of 17 points behind eight made threes before Johnson banked in a three to give the Pirates some momentum going into the locker room.

ECU would go more than five minutes without a field goal to start the second half, allowing South Florida to open up its lead to 22 at the 13:38 mark of the period and the Pirates were never able to get any closer than 17 points down the stretch.

Game Notes

South Florida's 14 made threes tied a season-high allowed by the Pirates.
RJ Felton ended the season scoring 10 or more points in 25 straight games.
Brandon Johnson leads all active AAC players in career double-doubles with 23. Johnson is eighth all-time in program history in career double-doubles.
After only winning two games in the AAC Championship over its first eight seasons in the conference, the Pirates have won a game in the tournament in back-to-back seasons.