Big second half lifts East Carolina past Charlotte 49ers

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Charlotte guard Nik Graves shoots over East Carolina's Treviion LaBeaux in the Pirates' 75-59 win Feb. 15, 2025 at Halton Arena. ECU scored 46 points in the second half to improve to 15-11, 7-6 in AAC.

Charlotte men’s basketball let a first half lead get away in a 75-59 loss to East Carolina.

The 49ers (9-17, 2-11 AAC) went into halftime ahead 35-29, but a 46-point outburst by the Pirates (15-11, 7-6 AAC) in the second half helped them cruise to the win. The second half comeback was largely spurred by R.J. Felton’s seven three-point shots on nine tries, including five makes in the second half. 

“I thought ECU had a sensational second half,” 49ers’ coach Aaron Fearne said. “They just kind of hung in there. I guess that if I was sitting on the other side, like they had to hang in there with Felton out and that foul trouble and did a good enough job to not have a big hole going into the half. And then they came out and really shot the ball well, especially Felton.”

It wasn’t as if Felton’s shots were uncontested. Fearne, however, was not pleased with his group’s defensive effort.

“It comes back to the start of the game,” he said. “We don’t rotate correctly off the post trap, it usually leads to the wide open three, then we don’t block out, it gets kicked out to him for the second three. So, for a guy like that who can score, he just needs to see the hole and be wide open. He made those couple of shots, and then he got in foul trouble, fortunately for us, but again, he showed some maturity and toughness to be able to sit there and then come out in the second half and play like he did.”

One bright spot for the 49ers was forward Giancarlo Rosado, who scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He was more aggressive and assertive on the low block and finished strong at the rim.

“He’s always kind of had that,” Fearne said. “He’s obviously pretty crafty, and his ability to play for mid-range in, he’s very good at faking the handoffs and countering and just getting on the rim. He’s pretty crafty with his finishing with both hands and he can kind of contort his body into some strange angles to finish on his reverses and stuff like that. And, he's had a pretty good year and a big role that he hasn't played, probably since high school. So, yeah, look, he's been obviously very effective for us offensively with his ability to move the ball and create for others.”

Up next for the 49ers is Temple. But, in the back of their minds, there’s another shot at the Pirates in Greenville.

“We know we’ve got to go to their place and have to be a lot better in that space, in those areas… than what we were today. But you know, we'll worry about that when we have to turn around and play them again. But now it's time to reset and refocus and come in and have a good couple of days of practice, and then come out and play Temple, which the last time we played them was a double overtime game.”

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