Pirates’ Late Push Falls Short in 67–54 Loss to App State

East Carolina showed flashes of fight, energy, and urgency on Thursday night inside Minges Coliseum, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a slow start and a late surge from Appalachian State.

The Mountaineers led from start to finish and ultimately pulled away for a 67–54 win, sending ECU to another frustrating nonconference loss.

After an ugly first half that saw the Pirates struggle to find any offensive rhythm, East Carolina briefly brought the building to life early in the second half. Jordan Riley and Giovanni Emejuru ignited the crowd with a pair of thunderous dunks, sparking a much-needed run that cut into App State’s lead and injected energy into a quiet Minges Coliseum.

But the momentum didn’t last.

App State answered when it mattered most, closing the game on a 26–2 run to put things away and silence the crowd down the stretch.

“Anytime you are trying to come back from that type of deficit, there’s so much magnitude on every play,” ECU head coach Michael Schwartz said. “We design some plays to get some looks, they don’t go in, and it continues to give energy to the other team.”

“They get an offensive rebound on a free throw, or they hit a three right after a finish by Riley in transition. Those plays matter so much when you’re fighting uphill the entire second half.”

East Carolina never led in the contest and trailed for 38:27 of the 40 minutes. The Pirates’ offense went cold at the worst possible time, failing to make a field goal over the final 4:31 of the game.

Despite the loss, Jordan Riley delivered another strong individual performance, finishing with 26 points and seven rebounds on 10-of-23 shooting. Giovanni Emejuru was efficient inside, adding 10 points and eight rebounds, while Tybo Bailey chipped in six points off the bench.

One of the few positives for ECU was improved ball security. After turnover issues plagued the Pirates in recent games, East Carolina committed just nine turnovers, compared to 16 by App State. However, the Mountaineers controlled the glass, out-rebounding ECU 41–32, and took advantage of second-chance opportunities.

Shooting woes again told the story for the Pirates. ECU finished the night shooting just 35.5 percent from the floor and 20 percent from three-point range, making only four triples on 20 attempts.

App State was led by Kasen Jennings, a transfer from USF, who scored 20 points and knocked down three of the Mountaineers’ five three-pointers. Alonzo Dodd added 17 points, while Wilson posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Schwartz noted postgame that ECU was competing but simply ran out of steam late.

“There were definite plays where I saw us run out of gas on both ends over the final four minutes,” Schwartz said. “We tried to win every four-minute segment down the stretch, and we did that until that last stretch.”

Injury news also surfaced after the game, as Schwartz shared that Providence transfer Eli DeLaurier is expected to miss extended time and may not return until conference play. DeLaurier has averaged 2.6 points and 3.0 rebounds across seven appearances this season.

East Carolina will look to regroup quickly, as the Pirates return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. ET against Buffalo inside Minges Coliseum.