GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) -Cory Farmer and John Fields each scored 16 points Saturday night to help East Carolina beat North Carolina Central 79-62.
Darrell Jenkins added 10 points and 13 assists for the Pirates (6-7), who matched their win total for all of last season. East Carolina shot 51 percent for the game, including 10-for-24 from 3-point range, and led by as many as 25 points in its final nonconference game.
The Pirates travel to second-ranked Memphis to open Conference USA play on Wednesday night.
Charles Futrell had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles (1-19), who are in their first year of Division I competition. It was N.C. Central’s 17th road game of the season.
East Carolina built a double-digit lead in the first 5 minutes and shot 58 percent for the half to take a 41-22 lead at the break. The Pirates pushed that margin to 50-25 on a three-point play by Jenkins with 17:38 left.
N.C. Central hung around, closing to within 61-51 on Futrell’s 3-pointer with 8:59 to play. But the Eagles never got closer, and East Carolina went 5-for-6 at the line in the last 2 minutes to seal it.
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