GREENVILLE — East Carolina won its fourth straight game with an 82-74 come-from-behind victory over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as sophomore Jayden Gardner had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Pirates.
ECU (6-7) faced deficits of 22-12 with 11:59 left in the first half and 42-34 one minute into the second half.
A 14-0 run that culminated with a free throw by Tremont Robinson-White gave the Pirates a 54-47 lead with 12:33 to go.
A 3-pointer by J.J. Miles provided ECU with its biggest lead at 74-63 with 4:42 remaining.
Gardner made nine of 14 field goal attempts. The Pirates went 18 of 35 from the floor in the second half, 51.4 percent. Tyrie Jackson hit six of 11 shots in scoring 16 points. Robinson-White finished with 13 points and four assists.
Charles Coleman was 4-for-4 from the floor in contributing eight points. Bitumba Baruti had eight points in the win and ECU had a 27-point advantage during the 23 minutes and 59 seconds he was in the nonconference contest. Baruti grabbed 10 rebounds.
Miles totaled six points. Tristen Newton had five points and seven assists.
The Colonels (3-10) were led by 25 points from guard Jomaru Brown. Tre King had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The win followed home triumphs over Campbell, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Charlotte.
“We need to make wins an expectation,” said Pirates coach Joe Dooley. “That’s building things over the course of time.”
ECU starts American Athletic Conference play at Wichita State (10-1) on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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