ECU Knocks Off Tulsa On The Road, 73-71 | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.



    TULSA, Okla.     Vance Jackson hit a three-pointer with just over 10 seconds remaining Tuesday night to lift East Carolina to a 73-71 American Athletic Conference victory over Tulsa inside the Reynolds Center.

    The Pirates (12-11, 3-8 AAC) picked up their first true road win of the season and only the program's second ever in Tulsa while the Golden Hurricane (7-15, 1-10 AAC) dropped its third straight.

    Jackson ended up with 22 points on the strength of six three-point field goals while Tremont Robinson-White returned to the lineup after a short one-game absence to net 13 points and distribute six assists. Additionally, Brandon Suggs saw his first action since the UCF contest and responded with six points, six assists and five steals. Jeriah Horne paced Tulsa with 18 points.

    ECU shot a sizzling 63 percent in the second half and was 9 of 14 from three-point range to finish the contest firing at a 50.9-percent clip overall. The Golden Hurricane outrebounded the Pirates 30-25 but turned the ball over 17 times.

    Tulsa jumped out to an early 12-4 advantage just 3:40 into the contest when Horne connected on a three. ECU fought all the way back to take a 18-17 lead via two free throws by Ludgy Debaut at the 10:52 mark but scored just two points over the next several minutes and found itself trailing 26-20 with 3:58 remaining before the break. A bucket by Jackson proved to be the final points of the stanza and allowed the Pirates to stay within striking range down 32-27.

    Horne and Rey Idowu each netted eight points to lead all scorers in the opening 20 minutes. ECU knocked down more field goals than the home side (11-10) but was outrebounded 21-13 and shot just 1 of 15 from three-point range.

    A big three by Jackson sparked a half-opening 13-8 Pirate run that knotted the score at 40. The teams traded the lead back and forth until the score settled at 48-47 in favor of the Golden Hurricane at the 11:49 mark. After Tulsa pushed ahead 51-47 on a Horne three, ECU ripped off a quick 10-0 run to pull in front 57-51 with 8:34 to play.

    The Pirates widened the margin to as much as eight before Tulsa whittled it down to 61-58 via a Horne layup with the clock showing 5:51. A battle to the finish ensued, but Jackson had the last word by draining a heavily contested three-point field goal with 11 seconds left to give East Carolina a 73-71 advantage. The Pirate defense held strong on the home team's final possession as Robinson-White grabbed a defensive rebound and ran out the clock.