Gardner lifts East Carolina past Tulane 81-62

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Jayden Gardner had 27 points and 13 rebounds as East Carolina defeated Tulane 81-62 on Saturday night. J.J. Miles added 21 points for the Pirates. Miles also had seven rebounds.

Tristen Newton had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists for East Carolina (9-11, 3-4 American Athletic Conference).

East Carolina posted a season-high 22 assists.

East Carolina dominated the first half and led 40-19 at the break. The Pirates' 40 points in the first half were a season best for the team.

Nic Thomas had 19 points for the Green Wave (10-9, 2-5). Christion Thompson added 14 points and 13 rebounds. Teshaun Hightower had 12 points.

East Carolina takes on Houston at home on Wednesday. Tulane faces South Florida at home on Wednesday.

---

For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25

---

This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com