Pirates Outlast UTSA In AAC Second Round, 70-65

Thursday, March 13

Fort Worth, Texas

9:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

19-13,10-8AAC

UTSA

12-19,6-12AAC

UTSA

East Carolina

March 14, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Fort Worth, Texas – Jordan Riley scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as East Carolina defeated UTSA, 70-65, in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Championship on Thursday night at Dickies Arena.

RJ Felton added 17 points for the Pirates (19-13, 10-8 AAC) and Cam Hayes scored 16 points to round out ECU's double-figure scorers.

Marcus Millender led UTSA (12-19, 6-12 AAC) with a game-high 24 points.

After UTSA scored the first basket of the game, the Pirates went on a 7-0 run to go in front 7-2 at the 17:15 mark of the first half. Jordan Riley threw down a thunderous dunk in transition to extend ECU's lead to eight but the Roadrunners closed with a point after ECU went over three minutes without a field goal.

Back-to-back threes from Riley and Hayes pushed ECU's lead back to seven at the 6:48 mark of the first half as the Pirates kept UTSA at bay to take a 34-28 lead going into the locker room.

Felton's turnaround jumper with 15:59 remaining put the Pirates ahead 44-37 but UTSA went on a 12-1 run and took a 49-45 lead, forcing an ECU timeout. Yann Farell broke the Pirates' offensive drought with a huge three and the Pirates regained the lead on another highlight jam from Riley to make it 53-51 with 8:58 remaining.

The teams exchanged blows over the next three minutes until Felton stuck a clutch three to give the Pirates a 60-57 lead with 4:35 to go. UTSA did not go away down the stretch as Millender's layup put the Roadrunners back in front, 63-62, with just over a minute to go.

Felton came through with a big basket again, hitting a jumper in the paint with 55 seconds remaining and the Pirates sank their free throws down the stretch to advance to the quarterfinals for the third straight year.

Game Notes

The Pirates used a starting five of Hayes, Felton, Riley, LaBeaux and Walker for the eighth consecutive game.
RJ Felton has made a field goal in 94 straight games and a three pointer in 23 straight games.
Jordan Riley recorded his third double-double of the year.
ECU is 11-2 this season when Cam Hayes scores in double figures.
Riley has had multiple steals in 20 games this season.
ECU's 45 rebounds are the most rebounds for the Pirates in an AAC Tournament game.
Felton moved to fifth all-time in AAC scoring history, passing UConn's Christian Vital (1,735 career points) with his 1,743 career points.
The Pirates have won a game in the AAC Tournament in each of the three seasons under head coach Michael Schwartz.
With its third win over UTSA this year, the Pirates have defeated a team three times in the same season for the first time since 2014-15 when ECU beat UCF twice in the regular season and once in the AAC Tournament.