by Don Mooney
Memphis, TENN———It was a tale of two halves. Memphis used a stifling defense in the second half to grab control of the game and secure a home court victory 69-59. Tigers forced East Carolina into a season-high 22 turnovers and scored 28 points off those miscues.
Memphis (12-4, 2-1) trailed 33-25 at the break but outscored the Pirates 44-26 in the second half, highlighted by a 22-0 run.
Key to Tigers second half success was holding the Pirates (10-7, 1-3 AAC) to 33.3 percent shooting after halftime (9-27), and allowed only 14.3 percent from three-point range (2-14) after ECU hit 7-of-14 from long range in the first 20 minutes.
Tigers take to the road against conference rivals UCF and Temple. Next home game will be Jan. 16 against Wichita State.