GREENVILLE, N.C. – RJ Felton scored a career-high 23 points, including 20 second-half points, as East Carolina battled back from an early 19-point first-half deficit to defeat Presbyterian 77-57 on Saturday evening at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.

Kalib LaCount and Javon Small each added 16 points for the Pirates (2-0) with all of Small’s points coming in the second half. The 19-point first-half deficit overcome for a victory tied for the second largest since 1981 with the Pirates’ buzzer-beating win over Memphis last season.

Terrell Ard Jr. led Presbyterian (1-2) with 13 points.

Cold shooting and turnovers put the Pirates in familiar territory early in the first half, as they faced a 23-4 deficit before chipping away at the lead by drawing fouls and earning 10 points at the free throw line in the first half. In similar fashion to the Mercer game, the Pirates used a quick 7-2 spurt at the end of the first half to go into halftime only down 32-26.

In the second half, the Pirates flipped the script on offense shooting 16-of-27 (59.3 percent) from the floor, 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from behind the arc, and 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) at the free-throw line to outscore Presbyterian 51-25. ECU tightened up its defense as well in the second half, holding the Blue Hose to only 25 percent shooting from the floor.

Up Next
ECU wraps up its three-game homestand on Wednesday, Nov. 16 against Hampton at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.