CINCINNATI – Javon Small scored a game-high 23 points, including 17 second-half points but East Carolina fell 83-55 to Cincinnati on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena.

Ezra Ausar added 10 points for the Pirates (10-8, 1-4 AAC) who allowed a season-high 14 three-pointers in route to their third straight loss.

Cincinnati (12-6, 3-2 AAC) had three scorers in double figures, led by Landers Nolley II (20 points) and Jeremiah Davenport (16 points).

The Pirates got off to a slow start for the second straight game trailing 8-2 and going scoreless for three minutes before a Quentin Diboundje layup at the 15:21 mark. Back-to-back layups from Diboundje and RJ Felton would knot the game at eight points, forcing a Bearcats timeout at the 14-minute mark. After going nearly four minutes without a point, Cincinnati would respond with an 8-2 run to take a 16-10 lead and force ECU to use one of their timeouts.

ECU would allow 10 first-half threes to trail 38-25 at the half and face its largest halftime deficit of the season.

The Pirates would come out flat on offense in the second half, managing only four points in the first seven minutes of the second stanza and staring at a 27-point deficit. Small’s second-half scoring binge would help trim the Bearcats’ lead to 17 but the Pirates would get no closer the rest of the way.

Up Next
The Pirates briefly return to Minges for a one-game homestand on Sunday, Jan. 15 against South Florida at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.