TAMPA — Host South Florida withstood a late East Carolina comeback for a 71-63 American Athletic Conference win on Wednesday night.
The Bulls led 55-32 with 15:18 remaining, but the Pirates closed within seven points, at 70-63, on two free throws by Ezra Ausar with 44 seconds to go.
“Proud of those guys that basically played the last 15 minutes of the game,” said ECU coach Mike Schartz on the ECU radio network. “We got off to a good start, but when South Florida punched back, we let up.”
The Pirates got out to a 14-6 lead, but USF surged to a 44-30 advantage at the half.
Tyler Harris led the Bulls (10-13, 3-7 AAC) with 21 points, hitting five of 10 from beyond the arc. Jamir Chaplin had 17 points for USF. Center Russel Tchewa had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
ECU made just four for 17 on 3-point shots. The Pirates were 21 for 55 overall on field goal attempts for 38.2 percent. The Bulls dropped 26 of 54 field goal tries for 48.1 percent and outrebounded the Pirates by a slight 34-32 margin.
R.J. Felton led ECU with 18 points. Ausar had 15 points and eight rebounds. Brandon Johnson finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Jaden Walker added seven points in the setback. Kalib LaCount had six points and five assists. Benjamin Bayela had five points.
USF had topped the Pirates, 81-70, in Greenville on Jan. 15.
ECU returns to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff against Southern Methodist. (8-15, 3-7). The Mustangs were dealt a 74-52 defeat at Tulane on Wednesday night.
Leave a Reply