In the first half, the Golden Hurricane (11-8, 5-2 AAC) jumped out to an early 10-4 lead over ECU (10-11, 2-6 AAC), but the Pirates came back to take the lead at 12-10. For much of the half, both teams exchanged baskets. After a 3-pointer from senior forward Caleb White (eight points) with 22 seconds left in the half, sophomore guard Kentrell Barkley stopped a drive by Tulsa’s TK Edogi in the final seconds to keep the Pirates’ lead to 29-24 at the half.
The Pirates held the lead the entire second half and led by double digits much of the way.