Jordan Riley added 21 points for the Pirates (13-11, 5-6 AAC) and RJ Felton scored 15 points on four made threes.
Marcus Millender led UTSA (10-13, 4-7 AAC) with 21 points.
ECU jumped out to an early 10-5 lead but the Pirates missed six of their next seven shots as UTSA went on a 10-0 run to go in front 15-10 with 11:50 remaining in the first half. The Roadrunners extended their lead to 19-10 forcing an ECU timeout at the 10:55 mark.
Felton snapped the Pirates’ six-minute scoring drought with a three at the top of the arc and that shot would spark a 7-2 spurt from ECU to pull the Pirates within a point and force a UTSA timeout with 7:15 to go in the half. Walker’s layup at 5:56 would tie the game at 23 but the Roadrunners would outscore the Pirates 17-10 the rest of the half to go into the locker room ahead 40-33.
CALLED GAME! 🔥🫣 @cjwalker_14 #1ECU pic.twitter.com/17npAmZu9D
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 9, 2025
The Pirates would hit four of their six shots as part of a 10-2 run to close within a point and Felton’s and-one layup at the 13:57 mark of the second half gave the Pirates their first lead of the game since the 15:50 mark of the first half. ECU extended its lead to 63-57 after an emphatic block from Walker led to a fastbreak, three-point play from Riley with just under nine minutes to go.
CJ DOING IT ALL pic.twitter.com/Lhx6GBB7n5
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 9, 2025
UTSA scored six quick points to tie the game at 63 and the Roadrunners hit three of their next four shots to take a 71-67 at the 4:34 mark of the second half. Walker would give ECU a 75-74 lead with a layup at just under two minutes to go but UTSA scored on a second-chance layup and hit a deep three that would seem to be the dagger, giving the Roadrunners a 79-75 lead.
BAAANG pic.twitter.com/E0WPqv8WsP
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 9, 2025
ECU would make things interesting as Trevion LaBeaux forced a turnover that led to a three-point play from Riley to make it a one-point game. The Pirates forced another UTSA turnover to get one final chance to win the game and the Pirates would convert on Walker’s last-second floater.
DON’T LET RJ GET HOT pic.twitter.com/YxSVimbXdk
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 9, 2025
Game Notes
- ECU’s starting five of Hayes, Farell, Riley, Woodard and LaBeaux was used for the first time this season.
- The Pirates are 4-1 when allowing 40 first-half points and are 3-7 this year when trailing at the half.
- UTSA’s 14-0 run in the first half was tied for the third largest scoring run allowed by the Pirates this season only behind a 16-0 run from Memphis and 17-0 run from South Carolina.
- RJ Felton has made a field goal in 86 consecutive games.
- Felton’s three pointer at the 14:36 mark of the second half moved him to fifth all-time in scoring in program history, passing B.J. Tyson who scored 1,570 career points at ECU.
- Cam Hayes scored in double figures for the first time since Dec. 21 against Gardner-Webb when he scored 18 points.
- ECU had four players in double figures for the first time since Jan. 8 against Temple.
- C.J. Walker scored 20 or more points in a game for the 11th time this season and of his career.
East Carolina returns home to host UAB on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.