GREENVILLE — Robert Allen of North Texas scored on a length of the court inbounds pass from Aaron Scott to give the Mean Green a 60-59 win at East Carolina on Wednesday night.
RJ. Felton banked in a jumper under pressure from beyond the right elbow to put the Pirates ahead, 59-58, with 3.1 seconds to go.
There were five lead changes in the final minute as ECU slipped to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in the American Athletic Conference.
Brandon Johnson of the Pirates missed a heave from the backcourt at the buzzer.
“There’s a lot of heads down, there’s a lot of emotion in there,” said ECU coach Mike Schwartz of the scene in the postgame locker room on the Pirate radio network. “Our guys … fought their hearts out. … Our guys are really disappointed.”
North Texas improved to 11-5 overall and 4-0 in the AAC as Jason Edwards had 20 points. Scott had 12 points and C.J. Noland added 11.
Allen had 11 rebounds to lead the Mean Green to a 40-28 advantage on the boards.
Schwartz cited North Texas’ offensive rebounding and ECU’s free throw shooting as deciding factors. The Mean Green led 15-6 on the offensive glass and the Pirates sank just 11 of 18 foul shots (61.1 percent).
Felton paced ECU with 16 points. A balanced attack included Cam Hayes with 12, Johnson with 11, Ezra Ausar (9) and Jaden Walker (8).
The Pirates visit Alabama-Birmingham (11-6, 3-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. (ESPN+). The Blazers defeated visiting Tulane, 83-69, on Wednesday night.
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