NEW ORLEANS – Jordan Riley scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds but East Carolina saw its three-game winning streak snapped as the Pirates fell at Tulane, 86-81, on Wednesday evening at Avron B. Fogelman Arena.
Buccaneer Scoreboard – ECU Basketball makes a valiant effort in the second half but comes up short at Tulane. Pirates face their largest halftime deficit of the season. Jordan Riley lead the Pirates with 19 points and 8 rebounds. pic.twitter.com/2TH8BFar2j
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) February 20, 2025
RJ Felton and C.J. Walker added 18 and 14 points for the Pirates (15-12, 7-7 AAC) who were looking to win their fourth American Athletic Conference game and eighth AAC game but could not overcome a three-point barrage from the Green Wave in the first half.
Rowan Brumbaugh led Tulane (15-11, 9-4 AAC) with 21 points and seven assists.
Jordan Riley drills the 3 to cut into the Tulane lead pic.twitter.com/dcWlJ0mbXo
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 20, 2025
After Jordan Riley’s jumper got ECU on the board first, Tulane raced out to a 10-4 lead at the 15:59 mark of the first half with eight of those points coming off three Pirates’ turnovers.
The Green Wave extended their lead to 18-10 as the Pirates only made one of last seven shots going into the under-12 media timeout in the first half.
ECU started to claw back in the game with a 7-0 spurt capped off by a steal and three-point play from Trevion LaBeaux to cut Tulane’s lead to 31-25 but the Green Wave continued to stay hot from downtown, going into the locker room ahead 46-32.
Buccaneer Scoreboard – At the half, ECU Basketball trails at Tulane 46-32. Pirates face their largest halftime deficit of the season. pic.twitter.com/E65bN6vrqJ
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) February 20, 2025
The Pirates came out of the locker room and punched first, scoring the first five points of the second half to trim Tulane’s lead down to 46-39 with 17:24 to go in the game. ECU pulled within six points on Riley’s three-pointer at the 13:05 mark but the Green Wave capitalized on consecutive and-one plays to go back in front by double digits.
Count this And-1 for @felton_j1 pic.twitter.com/8lHalRRVDr
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 20, 2025
Tulane took its largest lead of the game at 71-53 but a three-minute field goal drought from the Green Wave allowed the Pirates to make another push as ECU pulled within nine points with 4:05 remaining but the Pirates could not come up with a key defensive rebound that resulted in free throws for the Green Wave to push the lead back to double figures once again.
The block leads to a @YannFarell transition 3 pic.twitter.com/xMZTP371T0
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 20, 2025
The Pirates hit some threes late but Tulane handled its business at the free throw down the stretch to close out the game.
Jordan Riley gets the scoring going pic.twitter.com/sUH3XM6Hau
— East Carolina Men’s Basketball (@ecubasketball) February 20, 2025
Game Notes
- The Pirates’ starting five of Hayes, Felton, Riley, Walker and LaBeaux has started in 15 games this season.
- Tulane’s eight threes made in the first half are the most given up by the Pirates in a first half this year.
- Tulane’s 46 first half points were the most first half points allowed by the Pirates this year.
- ECU’s 46-32 (14-point) halftime deficit tied for the largest halftime deficit of the season as ECU trailed by 14 to North Alabama and Memphis.
- Yann Farell tied his season-high in points with 14.
- ECU has trailed at the half in its last five games.
- RJ Felton extended his streak of games with a field goal made to 89.
- Wednesday night was the first time ECU lost a game this season when making 10 or more threes in a game.
- The Pirates have lost their last four games at Tulane.
East Carolina returns home to host UTSA on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ for the first of a three-game homestand.