ECU men defeat Tigers in close contest

East Carolina University men's basketball team held on to defeat Grambling State University 76-68 victory on Star Wars night Thursday.

ECU (6-5) started off the game on the right foot when guards Isaac Fleming and B.J. Tyson, along with center Jabari Craig and forward Dimitri Spasojevic, each scored in the first 3:31 to put the Pirates ahead 9-0 to start the game.

As the game progressed, Grambling State (4-8) was able to answer, pulling ahead with 10:39 left in the first half with a 12-11 lead over ECU.

With 3:29 left in the first half, the Tigers went up 10 points, leading 31-21. Tyson helped close the gap by hitting from deep and making two free throws to make it 31-27 at the end of the first half, with Grambling State leading by four.

At the start of the second half, the Tigers jumped out to a seven point lead. With 15:46 left in the second half, ECU closed the 11-point lead from Grambling State with points scored by Tyson, Fleming and guard Shawn Williams to tighten up the game and make the Pirates just trailing 40-39.

After that point in the game, ECU and Grambling State were neck and neck. Williams made two free throws to tie the game and then helped pull ECU in front 45-44 with 13:39 left in the game, and the game was close all the way up to 9:32 left in the game, as the score stood at 51-51.

The Pirates went on a 17-7 run for the next 6:36 in the contest to put themselves up 68-58 thanks to Spasojevic, Fleming and Williams contributing at the offensive end. The Tigers fought back and cut the deficit from 10 to four with 1:27 left in the game.

ECU was playing without forward Kentrell Barkley but still got production from the rest of the guys on the team. Tyson lead the team with 20 points followed by Fleming with 18 points for ECU, while the Pirates also got contributions from Spasojevic, who added 16 points and seven rebounds. Guards K.J. Davis (7) and Williams (9) added a combined 16 points off the bench in the effort.

The Pirates shot 46.2 percent from the field in the contest going 24-for-52 but did not have their strongest game from the perimeter, as they went 3-for-15 overall. The free throws in the second half made the biggest difference on the scoreboard. ECU shot 20 more free throws than Grambling State in the second half going 19-for-33.

The Pirates wrapped up their non-conference play with Thursday’s win, the next game for ECU will be its first American Athletic Conference matchup against the University of Tulsa Dec. 28.