East Carolina 84, NC Central 76

Miguel Paul scored a career-high 25 points as East Carolina pulled away in the second half from North Carolina Central 84-76 Thursday night. Paul was only 4 of 12 from the field, but hit 15 of 17 free throws for the Pirates (8-4), who have won four straight. The back-and-forth first half was tied eight times, with East Carolina leading 39-35 at the break. After the Eagles (7-7) opened the second half with Nick Chasten's 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one, the Pirates went on a decisive 15-3 run. N.C. Central could get no closer than 73-68 with 3:12 remaining, snapping its two-game winning streak. East Carolina shot 34.5 percent from the field (10 of 29) in the first half, improving to 47.8 percent in the second (11 of 23) to exceed 40 percent for the third straight game. Ebuka Anyaorah scored a career-high 25 points for the Eagles.