Pirates Set To Host Charlotte For Senior Day

Game 31: Charlotte (18-11, 12-5 AAC) at East Carolina (14-16, 7-10 AAC)
Date \| Time	March 9, 2024 \| 4:00 p.m. ET
Location	Greenville, N.C. \| Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Game Program	Digital Game Program #6
Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9WNCT Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Charlotte \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Charlotte \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2023-24 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #GreenvilleGrit

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina men's basketball team is set to wrap up its 31-game regular season state on Saturday afternoon when the Pirates welcome in-state foe Charlotte to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum at 4 p.m.

The game will be streamed via ESPN+ with Patrick Johnson (play-by-play) and Si Seymour (analyst) on the call and can also be heard on WNCT 107.9 with Daron Vaught (play-by-play) and Michael Perry (analyst) handling broadcasting duties.

Prior to tipoff, the team will honor its seniors in team managers Bryce Bordeaux and Hoyle Sneed and guards Benjamin Bayela and Cam Hayes and forward Brandon Johnson.

RJ Felton leads East Carolina with 16.9 points per game (6th in AAC) and has scored 10 or more points in 22 consecutive games while Brandon Johnson and Ezra Ausar round out the Pirates' top scorers with 13.8 and 11 points per game respectively. Johnson leads the team on the glass with 8.5 rebounds per contest which is third in the league, is fourth in the AAC in double-doubles this season with nine and leads all active players in the AAC in career double-doubles with 21. Bobby Pettiford Jr. leads the Pirates with 3.5 assists per game and is first in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.21 (15th in NCAA).

Last Time Out
RJ Felton scored a game-high 28 points but East Carolina fell in overtime to SMU 80-77 on Wednesday evening inside Moody Coliseum. Brandon Johnson added 13 points and 11 rebounds and Cyr Malonga had a career night with 10 points and nine boards for the Pirates (14-16, 7-10 AAC) who controlled most of the first half and the final minutes of the second half before some late-game heroics from the Mustangs.

Scouting the 49ers
Charlotte is coming off a 69-64 win over Rice in their home finale to snap a three-game skid on Wednesday night, led by Igor Milicic Jr.'s 26 points and 10 rebounds. Dishon Jackson added 15 points and eight rebounds. Lu'Cye Patterson leads the 49ers in scoring with 14.1 points per game (15th in AAC) followed by Milicic Jr.'s 13 points per night and Jackson's 11.7 points a game. Charlotte is second in the conference in scoring defense at 65.7 points allowed and number one in free throw shooting at 75 percent. The 49ers are 14-2 when they outrebound their opponent this season.

Series History
Charlotte leads the all-time series with East Carolina 19-10 as the 49ers defeated the Pirates earlier this season, 67-52, in the programs' first meeting as AAC foes. The series has been split 4-4 in the last eight games and ECU is 7-6 against the 49ers inside Minges Coliseum including winning the last matchup at Minges, 60-56, in 2019.

On This Date
ECU is 4-0 in games played on Mar. 9 since the 1960-61 season with the last game on this date coming just last year in the first round of the AAC Championship when the Pirates defeated South Florida, 73-58.

Up Next
East Carolina will await its opponent and seed for the AAC Men's Basketball Championship Mar. 13-17 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

Benjamin Bayela

RJ Felton

Cam Hayes

Brandon Johnson

Cyr Malonga

Bobby Pettiford Jr.

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