A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Demetric Horton (15 PTS, 3-for-7 3-pt FGs, 4 ASTs); G Tyler Maye (12 PTS, 6-for-7 FGs, 4 REBs); G David Beatty (12 PTS, 3-for-8 FGs, 3 REBs); F Marcus Watson (11 PTS, 7 REBs, 3 BLKs, 3 STLs); F Webster Filmore (7 PTS, 3-for-6 FGs, 7 REBs).
ECU STATISTICAL LEADERS: F Vance Jackson (23 PTS, 8-for-15 FGs, 8 REBs); G JJ Miles (20 PTS, 6-for-14 FGs, 9 REBs); G Tristen Newton (14 PTS, 3-for-8 FGs, 8 ASTs).
WHY A&T DIDN'T GET THE "W": Poor rotating on defense. The Pirates got open looks throughout the night. The Aggies tried to force the issue and get into a half-court trap, but ECU kept the ball moving, often finding the open man for a good shot. They made 11 threes against A&T.
WHY ECU GOT THE "W": The Pirates didn't do anything spectacular, and if you looked strictly at the box score, one might even think the game swung the other way. But when it mattered most in the second half, the Pirates were excellent at the free throw line. With the Aggies within seven, 48-41, with 14 ½ minutes remaining, the Pirates went 16-for-18 from the line from there to clinch the victory.
CRUCIAL: The Aggies came out with a lot of energy and passion, flying to the ball defensively and crashing the glass. They had a 20-15 lead with 10:22 remaining when ECU fired off a 17-5 run to take a 32-25 lead. JJ Miles scored eight points during the ECU run, capping the spurt with back-to-back 3-pointers.
GREENVILLE, N.C. – North Carolina A&T played toe-to-toe with the East Carolina Pirates in a tough road matchup against a quality program. However, the Pirates pulled away late and earned an 82-71 win over the Aggies at Minges Coliseum.
The difference for the Pirates on Tuesday lied in the Pirates ability to hit timely shots, while the Aggies could not get the big shot it needed to earn their second straight upset over ECU after the Aggies won at Minges in 2017.
The Aggies opened the second half by scoring the first three points to cut ECU's lead to 39-33 in the first two minutes of the half. But promptly, Tremont Robinson-White knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead to nine.
That was followed by two Tyler Maye (Farmville, N.C.) jump shots in the lane and a dunk by Marcus Watson (Buford, Ga.) to get the Aggies to within three at 42-39 with 16:11 remaining in the game. But, again, with the Aggies on the brink of making things uncomfortable, a 3-pointer by Tristen Newton halted the Aggies intentions.
Over the next three minutes, the Pirates built a 49-41 lead with 13:43 to play. Demetric Horton (Raleigh, N.C.) made two 3-pointers over the next two minutes to help A&T get back to within five at 51-46. But the Pirates went on an 8-0 run to push the Pirates lead out to 59-46 with 10 minutes remaining.
A&T got no closer than nine the rest of the way as the Pirates hit its free throws down the stretch.
Over the first couple of minutes, A&T (3-7) was shining in all facets of the game, creating turnovers that led to fast-break points as they have done all year long. The Aggies led 4-0 after a layup off a turnover from Marcus Watson.
A&T forced five turnovers in the first six minutes of the game, jumping in passing lanes and putting pressure on ball handlers, eventually forcing the Pirates (8-2) into an early timeout.
The Pirates took their first lead of the game after a free throw from forward Vance Jackson. Then, Beatty entered the game and immediately got to work offensively, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers and helping A&T reclaim an 18-13 lead. But ECU outscored the Aggies 24-12 over the final 11 ½ minutes of the first half to take a 37-30 halftime advantage.
QUOTABLE: "In games like this, when you get opportunities to make layups, when you get opportunities to make free throws when you get opportunities to get rebounds, you have to get those, you have to make those. We have to make those plays. Some of these guys have some work to do, and we're going to keep working with them."
Head coach Will Jones following the game
