Pirates fall to Aztecs

Staff Report
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SAN DIEGO — Host San Diego State jumped out to a 16-0 lead and finished with a 79-54 win over East Carolina on Monday night.

The Aztecs (3-2) were coming off a 49-43 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock, ECU's opponent on Thanksgiving at 2 p.m. in Las Vegas.

San Diego State extended its streak of wins following a loss to 22 games.

"They made everything early," said Pirates coach Jeff Lebo. "We knew they were going to come out very aggressive. ... Give them credit. They came out with a lot of confidence. They don't lose two in a row around here very often."

Sophomore Lance Tejada Jr. was the only ECU player in double figures with 11 points. B.J. Tyson and Mike Zangari scored nine each. Kentrell Barkley had seven points. Prince Williams and Michel Nzege tallied six each. Caleb White was held well below his average with three points. Deng Riak also scored three.

Riak's basket from behind the arc cut SDSU's lead to 70-54 with 4:07 left but those were the last points for the Pirates.

The biggest lead for the Aztecs was 63-37 with 9:38 remaining.

Jeremy Hemsley and Winston Shepard had 16 points each in the win. Trey Kell scored 15 and Dakarai Allen added 11.

San Diego State made 26 of 53 field goal attempts for 49 percent, compared to 18 of 56 (32 percent) for ECU (2-2).

The Pirates made just seven of 29 from the floor (24.1 percent) in the first half but warmed up to make 11 of 27 (40.7 percent) in the final 20 minutes.

Tyson had eight rebounds and Barkley grabbed seven as SDSU held a slight 35-33 advantage on the boards.

The Pirates had 14 turnovers compared to 12 for the Aztecs. ECU was called for 23 fouls while the hosts were whistled for 16.

Tyson and Tejada each finished with four fouls. No player had more than three fouls for SDSU.

PAGE UPDATED 11/24/15 01:39 AM.

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