GREENVILLE — Radford saw a 14-point first-half lead disappear as East Carolina came back to lead 58-55 with 7:52 to go, but the Highlanders made a final push for a 73-66 nonconference win on Wednesday night in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Radford (2-1) went ahead to stay with 3:32 remaining on a 3-pointer by Justin Cousin for a 62-60 lead.
Senior B. J. Tyson led four Pirates into double figures with 16 points. Kentrell Barkley tallied 13, including the 3-pointer that provided the 58-55 lead. Adding 10 each were Jabari Craig and Shawn Williams.
Craig also claimed 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Isaac Fleming had nine points and seven assists for ECU (1-1) before exiting with his second technical foul with 1:01 to play.
Ed Polite Jr. led the visitors with 17 points and six rebounds. Carlik Jones and Caleb Tanner scored nine apiece for the Highlanders. Devonnte Holland had seven rebounds for Radford.
ECU had a 40-34 advantage on the boards.
Barkley had four assists for the Pirates and Williams collected three.
A crowd of 3,384 saw six lead changes. The Pirates had a 30-22 lead in points in the paint.
The Highlanders had fewer turnovers, 16-11, and led 18-8 in points off turnovers. The visitors had a whopping 46-16 advantage in bench scoring.
Radford got to the line more often, making 23 of 34 while ECU sank 16 of 20.
The Pirates were 22 of 58 in field goal shooting for 37.9 percent, including six of 22 beyond the arc for 27.3 percent.
The Highlanders made 21 of 53 field goal tries for 39.6 percent and were eight of 25 on 3-pointers for 32 percent.
ECU hosts Central Connecticut State (0-3) on Friday at 7 p.m.
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