NEW ORLEANS — East Carolina held off Tulane, 76-73, at Devlin Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. It was the Pirates’ first win on an opponent’s home floor since March 2 of last season at South Florida.
Pirates sophomore Kentrell Barkley had 17 points, hitting the front end of a one-and-one for the final margin with 6.9 seconds to go.
The Green Wave’s Colin Slater got up a tying attempt from beyond the arc on the right side but it missed at the buzzer as freshman Jeremy Sheppard challenged defensively.
ECU overcame a 34-29 halftime deficit, starting the second half with a 7-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer by Caleb White from the left corner.
White had 17 points. Sheppard had 16 points and five assists.
Andre Washington had 11 points, eight rebounds and blocked seven shots. Freshman Deng Riak also had eight rebounds as the Pirates led 39-33 on the boards.
B.J. Tyson contributed nine points. Jabari Craig netted four points and Elijah Hughes had two.
The Pirates improved to 13-15 overall and 5-10 in the American Athletic Conference.
Cameron Reynolds led Tulane (5-22, 2-13) with 22 points. Melvin Frazier had 19 points for the Green Wave before fouling out. Malik Morgan had 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the setback.
Tulane led 49-42 with 14 minutes to go but ECU surged, going ahead to stay on a drive by Tyson for a 65-63 lead with 5:18 remaining.
ECU improved to 1-9 on the road this season. The Pirates had a 70-63 win over Air Force in Savannah, GA, on Nov. 26 on a neutral floor.
ECU hit 28 of 58 field goal attempts for 48.3 percent. The Pirates made seven of 15 from long range for 46.7 percent and made 13 of 19 at the line (68.4 percent).
ECU plays at Tulsa on Sunday at 4 p.m.
I was watching the game for most of the first half, I am afraid that It looked as if we were getting out played. I am excited and surprised that we won. I hope we can continue getting the “W’s”. GGOO…_PPIRATES!!!