Heartbreak at Home: Pirates Edged Out by Gardner-Webb, 84-79

GREENVILLE, N.C. – RJ Felton tallied 19 points; however, East Carolina struggled to make a defensive stop in the waning moments as the Pirates lost 84-79 to Gardner-Webb on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.

Jordan Riley and Cam Hayes contributed 18 points for the Pirates (8-5), who have suffered four defeats in their last five matches. Yann Farell netted 11 points while Jayshayne Woodard added five points and three steals off the bench.

Darryl Simmons II of Gardner-Webb (5-8) was the game’s top scorer with 29 points.

ECU opened the scoring with a bucket from Felton, but Gardner-Webb made five of their initial nine attempts from the field, quickly establishing a 13-6 advantage at the 14:28 mark of the first half. The Runnin’ Bulldogs would connect on four successive shots to push the margin to 21-11 as ECU struggled, managing to make only one of their six attempts.

The Pirates would fight their way back into contention, catching fire towards the latter part of the first half, nailing three of their last five three-pointers to take a 37-35 lead by halftime.

Gardner-Webb scored on their first possession of the second half to tie the game at 37-37, and the initial 10 minutes of the second half witnessed 10 lead changes with neither side able to create any distance. After Hayes completed a three-point play to even the score at 66, Gardner-Webb quickly responded with a 6-0 run, extending their lead to six and prompting a timeout from the Pirates.

ECU intensified their efforts, forcing back-to-back turnovers from Gardner-Webb to close the gap to one, yet the Pirates could not secure a loose ball or stop in the critical final seconds and failed to convert the game-tying three-pointer as Gardner-Webb secured the victory on the road.

Game Notes