WRAL Sports Fan

Final Score: East Carolina 72, SMU 69

Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Akeem Richmond scored 29 points and broke a school record by hitting nine shots from beyond the arc as the East Carolina Pirates defeated the SMU Mustangs, 72-69, in Conference USA action at Moody Coliseum.

Richmond's efforts topped the previous record of eight made 3-pointers which had been done by five other East Carolina (16-10, 7-6 C-USA) players in history. Paris Campbell and Miguel Paul each added 11 points and Robert Sampson brought down 11 boards to go with four blocks. The Pirates have won three of their last four games.

Jalen Jones had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, Ryan Manuel added 18 points and Nick Russell had 16 points and nine assists for SMU (13-14, 3-9). The Mustangs have lost four of their last five.

SMU shot 51.6 percent from the field and led 32-21 at halftime. East Carolina had just seven field goals on 26.9 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes.

After halftime the Pirates heated up to 51.9 percent shooting, including a remarkable 10-of-16 effort from beyond the arc to rally. The key stretch came when back-to-back triples from Paul and Campbell erased a two-point deficit and pushed East Carolina ahead for good with less than a minute to play.

SMU had a 25-13 edge in points off turnovers in the contest and outscored the Pirates 42-14 in the paint. East Carolina had a massive 39-3 edge from beyond the arc.