ECU men’s basketball falls short to UNCW

Junior B.J. Tyson led East Carolina’s men’s basketball team with 17 points in a wire-to-wire 81-71 loss to the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks Tuesday night at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington, NC.

Once again for ECU, the game was lost in the first half as it fell behind 35-25 going into halftime. In the second half the game took off offensively for both sides as each team put up 46 points.

Both the Pirates and the Seahawks were successful shooting throughout the game as they were 42.6 percent and 44.8 percent from the field, respectively. UNCW had two players particularly light it up shooting, as Denzel Ingram led the team with 26 points and C.J. Bryce followed closely behind him with 25 points. As a team the Seahawks made nine 3-pointers and only turned the ball over nine times.

ECU, on the other hand, lacked in every statistical category. The Pirates had more turnovers throughout the game with 15, a low of just four 3-pointers as a team, and recorded fewer assists than turnovers as they only recorded nine assists.

Aside from Tyson, the Pirates’ scoring was led by Caleb White, Jeremy Sheppard and Elijah Hughes, who all scored in double figures with 12 points. For Hughes, it was his first game scoring in double digits as a Pirate.

Just as he has throughout the season, White continues his impressive play in his senior season to end his college career. For Sheppard, it was yet another double figure scoring game as he continues to earn more minutes and play calling responsibility for head coach Jeff Lebo.

It was the third consecutive loss for the Pirates after previously winning three games in a row. The loss to UNCW puts ECU at 7-5 overall in non-conference play, leaving just one more game before conference play starts. The Pirates’ will end their non-conference schedule as they return to Minges Coliseum to face Presbyterian College Thursday night.