GREENVILLE — East Carolina went to overtime for the second straight game, topping Memphis 88-85 in an American Athletic Conference contest on Saturday in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as multiple players had sterling performances for ECU.
Redshirt freshman Shawn Williams, who is from Little Rock, AR, about two hours from Memphis, had a career-high 30 points, including 10 in the extra period.
Junior Isaac Fleming became the first player in program history to record a triple double as he had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
“That felt great when they told me,” Fleming said. “There’s been a lot of basketball played here.”
Fleming drove and passed out to Williams in the right corner for a 3-pointer that put the Pirates ahead to stay at 81-80 with 3:47 left in overtime. Williams drained another three on a feed from Fleming that provided an 84-80 advantage with 3:04 remaining.
Junior Kentrell Barkley contributed a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
ECU had its biggest lead at 51-41 after two free throws by Barkley with 16:53 left in regulation.
Senior B.J. Tyson had 14 points for the Pirates before he fouled out in overtime.
ECU forced overtime on Wednesday night as Barkley threw a length-of-the-court inbounds pass with two seconds left that Tyson converted into a tying basket as he went to the deck, but Tulane won 71-69 in overtime.
Interim coach Michael Perry said the Pirates didn’t dwell on the disappointment.
“It’s great to be around these kids with the way they handle adversity,” Perry said.
Williams had a costly turnover against the Green Wave but obviously atoned.
“My teammates kept passing me the ball and I was able to make shots,” said Williams, who was familiar with some of the Tigers’ personnel.
Jeremiah Martin paced Memphis (14-9, 5-5 AAC) with 33 points.
A loud crowd of 3,338 saw Martin miss a pair of potentially-tying 3-pointers in the final 11 seconds of overtime.
Perry went to a zone defense in the late stages that proved effective.
ECU (9-13, 3-8) visits Temple on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (TV: ESPNN).
The Owls (12-10, 4-6), coming off an upset win over No. 16 Wichita State on Thursday night, will face Tulane on the road today at 2 p.m. (TV: ESPNN) before returning to Philadelphia to prepare for the Pirates.
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