Greenville, N.C. — Nae’Qwan Tomlin showcased his scoring prowess with 20 points, propelling Memphis to an 82-58 triumph over East Carolina on Thursday night.
Tomlin, a standout for the Tigers (21-8, 10-6 American Athletic Conference), also grabbed five rebounds. David Jones bolstered the effort with 18 points, shooting 6 for 13 from the field (including 1 for 6 from beyond the arc) and converting 5 of 6 free throws. Jones showcased his versatility with 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Nick Jourdain chipped in 14 points, shooting an efficient 6 of 8 from the field.
“We just got beat by a very good team,” ECU coach Mike Schwartz said. “Unfortunately, we were never able to put any pressure on them to get this game where, outside of the first half when it was a two-possession game with a few minutes left, we were never able to get ourselves in position to compete and give ourselves a chance tonight.”
RJ Felton led the charge for the Pirates (14-14, 7-8) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Johnson contributed 16 points, eight rebounds, and five steals, while Cam Hayes added nine points and four assists.
Memphis seized control early in the first half and maintained its lead throughout the game. Jones led the scoring charge with nine points in the first half, guiding his team to a 36-24 advantage at halftime. Tomlin took charge in the second half, pouring in 15 points to secure the victory.
“We need more than RJ and Brandon scoring the basketball,” the second-year coach said. “It’s really hard. It’s hard in any game, and it’s definitely harder when you play a really good team.
“It’s just hard to win when we need that production because what happened tonight was they started to just squeeze the floor off other guys. They were switching and they started basically playing off of guys. Packing the elbows, packing the paint and making it very difficult to get into the paint. But that’s when other guys have to step up and have to make wide-open shots because if you make one or two wide-open shots and they’re playing like that, chances aren’t they’ll change that style of defense. And so that hurt us tonight.”
Up Next: ECU are road games at North Texas (Sunday) and SMU (Wednesday) before hosting the regular season finale on March 9 against Charlotte.
