ECU Goes Down to Hot Shooting JMU | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the news and information section for East Carolina University men's and women's sports.


    HARRISONBURG, Va.     James Madison broke open a close game early in the second half, going on a 27-8 run over a 9 1/2 minute stretch to pull away from East Carolina and send the Pirates to their third consecutive loss, 99-89, at the Convocation Center on Saturday.

    All five JMU starters scored in double figures, led by Darius Banks' game-high 22 points. Michael Banks added 18 points and was 5 of 5 outside the arc. Dwight Wilson and Matt Lewis scored 16 points each and Deshon Park chipped in 10 as the Dukes' starting five accounted for 82 points.

    James Madison (6-3) finished the game shooting 60 percent from the field (31 of 52) and 46 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (12 of 26). The Dukes also made 25 of 32 free throw attempts (.781).

    "I'm very disappointed in the way we guarded," Pirate head coach Joe Dooley said. "We didn't guard the dribble and they were able to get downhill. Our offensive stats were good enough to win 99 percent of the games, that's why is especially disappointing. We spent so much more time on defense and it doesn't look like it. It's very disheartening."

    Freshman Logan Curtis came off the bench and scored 18 points, burying six 3s, to lead ECU (2-6), while Jayden Gardner and Tyrie Jackson had 16 points each. Tremont Robinson-White scored 14 in his Pirate debut.

    The Dukes made 9 of 18 3-point attempts in the first half and built a 16-point lead 11 minutes into the game. ECU battled back and went on a 9-2 run to close out the first 20 minutes and only trailed by seven at halftime, 46-39.

    A 3-pointer from Bitumba Baruti got ECU within five during the first minute after intermission, but JMU scored 11 unanswered to push its lead back to 16, 59-43, over the next 3:25.

    The Pirates' deficit reached 24, 75-51, with 9:29 remaining.

    ECU whittled the Dukes' lead down to nine with one minute to play, but JMU went 6 of 6 at the foul line during the final 60 seconds to secure the victory.

    The Pirates return to action Tuesday, Dec. 3, against Coppin State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum to open a five-game homestand.

    POSTGAME NOTES

• ECU used its seventh different starting lineup of the season with Tremont Robinson-White, Tyrie Jackson, Brandon Suggs, Bitumba Baruti and Jayden Gardner on the floor at tip-off.
• Junior J.J. Miles did not play due to injury.
• Robinson-White made his ECU debut after missing the first six games due to injury.
• East Carolina's 89 points were a season-high and the second-most they've ever scored under Coach Joe Dooley ... Ironically, the most points the Pirates have ever scored under Dooley was 90 against James Madison in January 1998.
• The Pirates made a season-high 13 3-point field goals ... The last time ECU made 10 or more 3s in game was Feb. 3, 2018 against Memphis, burying 11 shots outside the arc.
• The 18 assists were a season-best for ECU and its eight turnovers were a season-low.
• ECU has multiple players make multiple 3-point field goals for the first time this season as four players made two or more 3s.
• The Pirates posted their second 50-point half of the season, scoring 50 second half points ... Their other 50-point half was against Evansville, putting 55 points after halftime.
• Curtis scored double figures for the first time in his career, finishing with 18 points ... Curtis entered the game 2 of 8 from outside the arc this season and made 6 of 9 tonight ... He is the first Pirate to make six 3s in game since Shawn Wiliams against North Carolina A&T last season (12/28/18).
• Gardner scored double figures for the eighth straight game to start the season, while Jackson reached double digits for the second consecutive game.