East Carolina 74, Central Connecticut State 59: Michel-Ofik Nzege made all nine of his field-goal attempts and matched his career high with 18 points to send the Pirates to victory over the visiting Blue Devils.

Lance Tejada drained four 3-pointers and scored 14 points off the bench while B.J. Tyson supplied 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for East Carolina (4-3), which continued the trend of alternating wins and losses. Terry Whisnant and Caleb White had seven points each for the Pirates.

Brandon Peel scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and pulled down six rebounds for Central Connecticut State (0-6). Khalen Cumberlander added 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and had five assists for the Blue Devils.

Following a fairly even opening six minutes, the Blue Devils took their biggest lead at 21-15 with 12 minutes left behind a pair of jumpers from Faronte Drakeford and a 3-pointer by Cumberlander. Tejada hit three 3-pointers in a span of 2 1/2 minutes, with the last two igniting an 18-2 run for the Pirates, who went from a three-point deficit to a 13-point edge en route to a 44-32 lead at the break.

The Pirates wasted no time in widening the gap in the second half, outscoring the Blue Devils 10-2 to push the lead to 54-34 with 15:54 remaining. Central Connecticut got it back to the halftime deficit of 12 with eight straight points, including four by Cumberlander, and later closed within 11 points on layup by Peel, but East Carolina had all the answers over the final 11 minutes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: East Carolina, which had 13 assists on 18 first-half baskets, missed seven field-goal attempts while making five 3-pointers and all three of its free throws in the opening stanza. ... The Blue Devils hit six 3-pointers and have made at least one in a school-record 535 straight games. ... The nine field goals were a career-high for Nzege, who made 7-of-9 against North Carolina Wesleyan, a Division III school.