Central Conn. St. @ East Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 30, 2014 ) Central Conn. St. 59, East Carolina 74

East Carolina looks to rebound from its first loss of the season when it hosts Central Connecticut State in a non-conference game Friday night. The Pirates dropped a 73-66 decision at home to Radford on Wednesday.

B.J. Tyson had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists for East Carolina against Radford. The Pirates trailed most of the contest, but clawed back to take a two-point lead midway through the second half, but could not close the deal. Jabari Craig led East Carolina with 11 rebounds. Playing without coach Donyell Marshall, Central Connecticut is off to an 0-3 start losing at St. John's most recently.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN3




ABOUT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (0-3): The Blue Devils are still awaiting word on Marshall, who was removed from the team by school administration for his part in an altercation with an assistant coach. Marshall has not been with the team since the preseason incident and is tentatively scheduled to return Nov. 27. Central Connecticut suffered narrow losses at Hartford and Rutgers before getting soundly beaten at St. John's 80-55 on Tuesday.

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (1-1): The Pirates lost their composure in the loss to Radford getting called for technical fouls in the midst of their second-half rally. “Our team made a nice comeback in the second half ... got excited, got the crowd into the game and then, sometimes with young, new players, when they get excited, they become out of character,” Pirates coach Jeff Lebo told reporters. Kentrell Barkley had 13 points in the contest while Shawn Williams and Craig each had 10 points.

TIP-INS

1. Tyler Kohl, a 6-5 junior guard, leads Central Connecticut in scoring (14.7 points) and rebounding 7.7.

2. East Carolina was 1-for-9 from behind the arc in the first half against Radford.

3. The Pirates' Isaac Fleming had seven assists and has assumed the role of starting point guard after the dismissal of Jeremy Sheppard.

PREDICTION: East Carolina 70, Central Connecticut State 60