Pirates Come Up Five Points Short At UConn

Saturday, January 6

Hartford, Conn.

12 P.M.

East Carolina University

7-8, 1-3AAC

UCONN

8-7, 1-2AAC

ECU

UCONN

January 06, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

RESULT
UConn led by one-point at halftime and maintained the lead for the entire second half to defeat ECU, 70-65, at the XL Center in Hartford Saturday.

TURNING POINT
ECU trailed by three, 68-65, with 8.8 seconds to play and had a shot to send the game into overtime, but B.J. Tyson's 3-pointer hit off the rim and UConn grabbed the rebound to secure the victory. Tyler Polley made two free throws with two seconds left to set the final margin.

ECU PLAYER-OF-THE-GAME
Tyson scored 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds with one assist in 39 minutes of action … It was his fifth-straight game scoring double figures, bookended by a pair of 20-point performances … It was the fourth time this season which he scored 20 or more points … Tyson led the team in scoring for the eighth time overall this year and fourth time in the last five games.

UCONN PLAYER-OF-THE-GAME
Christian Vital scored 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting with four rebounds and five steals in 36 minutes of action … He made a pair of 3-pointers and handed out two assists.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"We were able to withstand that initial push from them and continue to play basketball and continue to fight. I thought our guys did a great job of doing that. Our guys played with a lot of confidence and continued to believe throughout. They really competed at a high level at which they needed to win. Turnovers and offensive rebounds are telling factors that really put them into a position to win. We gave them more opportunities than we had."

KEY PERFORMERS
Junior Kentrell Barkley added 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds while matching his career-high for steals with five … Freshman Dimitri Spasojevic scored double digits for the fourth time this season, netting 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in 40 minutes of action … Shawn Williams added 11 points off the bench, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in the first half.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
ECU finished the game shooting 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field, but made 23 of its final 44 attempts (.522) after starting 2-of-11 from the field … The Pirates held UConn to 41.7 percent from the field, however the Huskies scored 12 points off 16 offensive rebounds … ECU committed 21 turnovers for the second time in three games which led to 11 points by the Huskies today … ECU held UConn to 12.5 percent outside the arc (2-16) … The Huskies outscored the Pirates at the free throw line, 18-10.

UP NEXT
The Pirates return home to begin a three-game home stand Thursday, Jan. 11, against No. 9 Wichita State. Tip-off is set for approximately 9 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.