RJ Felton added 14 points for the Pirates (12-11, 4-6 AAC) who were down by as many as 23 points in the second half.
Caden Powell led Rice (12-11, 3-7 AAC) with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Rice raced out to a 7-0 lead as the Pirates got off to a sloppy start missing their first three shots and turning the ball over twice before a fancy scoop and score from Felton got the Pirates on the board at the 16:18 mark. The Owls would continue to stay in front, 11-6, as the Pirates’ early shooting struggles continued in the game first 10 minutes.
ECU eventually knotted the game at 13 with 8:05 left in the half on a poster dunk from Walker and the teams traded leads over the next three minutes before Rice closed the first half on a 9-2 run to go into the locker room ahead 33-25.
Five quick points from Felton to start the half but the Pirates went cold again, going 3:35 without a point before Cam Hayes’ three-pointer snapped ECU’s scoring drought with 14:23 to go in the game. The Owls would push their lead to 23, scoring on back-to-back Pirate turnovers. The Pirates were unable to find any offense down the stretch, as ECU would get no closer than 13 points and the Owls would snap their seven-game skid.
It’s @felton_j1 time pic.twitter.com/9JKIDdi7Fg
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 6, 2025
Game Notes
- C.J. Walker, RJ Felton and Jayshayne Woodard scored all of the Pirates’ 25 points in the first half.
- ECU fell to 1-5 this season when scoring under 30 points in the first half and 2-6 when trailing at the half.
- Jordan Riley streak of 12 straight games with a steal was snapped.
- Hayes’ three-pointer at the 14:23 mark of the second half was the first points scored by a Pirate not named Felton, Walker or Woodard.
- ECU’s 11 percent mark from behind the arc is a season-low.
- Walker is shooting 22-for-35 (63 percent) in his last two games.
- RJ Felton is only nine points away from moving to fifth all-time in scoring at East Carolina.
- Outside of Felton and Walker, the rest of the Pirates combined to go 9-for-28 (32 percent) from the floor.
Posterize: to make a forceful and overpowering dunk shot over (an overmatched defensive player)@Cjwalker_14 https://t.co/dI5W2BGPbX pic.twitter.com/wvUamPI2Vm
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 6, 2025
East Carolina goes back on the road to face UTSA on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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