Bulls pull away from ECU

By Al Myatt
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TAMPA, FL — Host South Florida pulled away late to defeat East Carolina 58-50 on Saturday night and drop the Pirates to 0-2 in the American Athletic Conference.

"They finished off the game," said Pirates coach Jeff Lebo. " ... We didn't make the tough plays you need to finish the game, whether it was a big rebound, a big stop or a big basket. We went 5:30 without scoring. It's hard to win on the road scoring 50."

A 12-0 run gave the Bulls a 54-44 lead with 1:51 remaining.

Freshman B.J. Tyson had 16 points to lead ECU (7-8) and Florida State transfer Terry Whisnant added 11.

The Pirates closed the first half with a 13-8 run to lead 27-25 at the break. Tyson scored 10 straight points for ECU in the second half.

South Florida (7-8, 1-1) made 50 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half while holding the Pirates to 33.3 percent over the final 20 minutes.

"The second and third shot opportunities that hurt us," Lebo said. "Their size, offensive rebounds and second chance points were the difference in the game."

The Bulls scored 18 points on 12 offensive rebounds.

ECU continues AAC play at Cincinnati at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. That game is scheduled to be shown on ESPNU.

The Bearcats won their league opener 56-50 at home against Southern Methodist on Saturday to improve to 10-3 overall. Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin is not actively directing the team due to a medical condition. Associate head coach Larry Davis is filling in.

PAGE UPDATED 01/04/15 03:21 PM.

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