Saturday, February 21
Charlotte, N.C.
Noon
East Carolina University
9-18,4-10American
56
at
68
Charlotte
14-13,8-6American
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
East Carolina
25
31
56
Charlotte
36
32
68
Pirates Fall At Charlotte, 68-56
February 21, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Charlotte, N.C. – Jordan Riley scored a game-high 20 points but East Carolina dropped its second straight game, falling to Charlotte 68-56 at Halton Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Corey Caulker scored a season-high 16 points and Giovanni Emejuru picked up his 13th double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Pirates (9-18, 4-10 American) who had won their last three road games.
Ben Bradford and Anton Bonke both scored 12 points to lead Charlotte (14-13, 8-6 American) while Dezayne Mingo added 10 points and 10 assists.
Charlotte got off to a fast start, scoring the first eight points of the game until Isaiah Mbeng got the Pirates on the board with a three at the 17:23 mark to beat the shot clock. After Emejuru's layup made it 8-5, Charlotte controlled the majority of the half as the Pirates got no closer than five on Riley's first field goal at the 3:59 mark.
The Niners closed the half strong on a 6-0 run while the Pirates went without a field goal for the final four minutes as ECU found itself down 36-25 at the break.
ECU cut into the halftime deficit with a 15-5 run to open the second half, spearheaded by Caulker's seven points, making the score 43-40 with 12 minutes left in the game. ECU cut it to a one-point game on Emejuru's second chance basket but every time the Pirates got within a possession, Charlotte answered to prevent ECU from taking the lead.Â
Up Next
East Carolina visits UTSA on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Corey Caulker scored a season-high 16 points and Giovanni Emejuru picked up his 13th double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Pirates (9-18, 4-10 American) who had won their last three road games.
Ben Bradford and Anton Bonke both scored 12 points to lead Charlotte (14-13, 8-6 American) while Dezayne Mingo added 10 points and 10 assists.
Charlotte got off to a fast start, scoring the first eight points of the game until Isaiah Mbeng got the Pirates on the board with a three at the 17:23 mark to beat the shot clock. After Emejuru's layup made it 8-5, Charlotte controlled the majority of the half as the Pirates got no closer than five on Riley's first field goal at the 3:59 mark.
The Niners closed the half strong on a 6-0 run while the Pirates went without a field goal for the final four minutes as ECU found itself down 36-25 at the break.
ECU cut into the halftime deficit with a 15-5 run to open the second half, spearheaded by Caulker's seven points, making the score 43-40 with 12 minutes left in the game. ECU cut it to a one-point game on Emejuru's second chance basket but every time the Pirates got within a possession, Charlotte answered to prevent ECU from taking the lead.Â
Up Next
East Carolina visits UTSA on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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Team Stats
ECU
CLT
FG%
.345
.397
3FG%
.200
.269
FT%
.609
.688
RB
38
43
TO
12
8
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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