GREENVILLE — Kentrell Barkley scored 14 points and had seven rebounds as East Carolina took a season-opening 76-50 win over Coppin State on Sunday.
Redshirt freshman Shawn Williams also scored 14 points in the victory.
Isaac Fleming, a transfer from Hawaii, added 12 points and four assists for the Pirates, who pulled away from a tie at 6 to lead 40-18 at halftime.
The Eagles (0-2) were coming off a 70-54 loss at Oregon in a contest that started at midnight, Eastern time, on Friday night.
Baltimore-based Coppin State is coached by former Maryland and NBA player Juan Dixon.
ECU got eight points each from senior B.J. Tyson and freshman Justin Whatley. Tyson and Whatley each had three assists.
A crowd of 3,228 saw the hosts hit 26 of 58 field goal attempts for 44.8 percent, including 4 of 18 behind the arc for 22.2 percent. The Pirates were 20 of 27 at the line for 74.1 percent.
ECU had a 47-30 rebounding advantage as Whatley and 6-11 junior Usman Haruna grabbed six apiece.
No one played more than 28 minutes for the Pirates.
“It was nice to get that first game under wraps here,” said ECU coach Jeff Lebo. “I thought we did some good things in particular defensively. I was very worried in this game because of their ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter, so I thought we did a great job and I thought we made it difficult for them to get an open look.”
The Eagles got 10 points and six rebounds from Adam Traore.
The Pirates return to action against Radford at home on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Highlanders are 1-1 after an 82-72 loss at Ohio State on Sunday.
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