Johnson scores 27, East Carolina beats SMU 77-72

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Brandon Johnson scored 27 points as East Carolina beat SMU 77-72 on Saturday night.

Johnson had six rebounds for the Pirates (12-12, 3-8 American Athletic Conference). Ezra Ausar scored 19 points and added 13 rebounds. RJ Felton shot 6 for 13 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line to finish with 18 points.

The Mustangs (8-16, 3-8) were led by Zhuric Phelps, who posted 23 points and two steals. Zach Nutall added 18 points for SMU. Samuell Williamson had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Johnson scored 13 points in the first half for East Carolina, which led 40-32 at halftime. East Carolina used an 8-0 second-half run to erase a one-point deficit and take the lead at 60-53 with 8:29 left in the half. Johnson scored 14 second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.