GREENVILLE — After a difficult four-game road swing through California and Las Vegas, East Carolina cruised past an inferior Florida Atlantic team Tuesday night, 74-48.

ECU dominated the Owls in every facet of the game, specifically in the paint. The Pirates outscored FAU 22-4 in the paint and were led by sophomore B.J. Tyson, who started the game with seven points with seven boards in the first half. ECU found itself at the rim for shots consistently as the FAU defense allowed the Pirates to drive by consistently.

“The closer you get, the better you shoot,” said ECU head coach Jeff Lebo following the win. ECU shot 32 percent, 31 percent and 32.7 percent in the three losses on the west coast last week.

Now, in the last two wins over Stetson and FAU, the Pirates have shot over 54 percent in the games.

Senior forward Michel Nzege missed the game with an ankle injury, opening the door for sophomore Grant Bryant to pick up his first significant minutes of his collegiate career and he seized the opportunity.

Bryant shot 6-for-8 from the field (12 points) as he drove by Owl defenders and earned points through traffic at the rim. Bryant finished behind only his recruiting classmate, Tyson, in points (14) for the game.

Bryant watched by as Lance Tejada and Tyson earned quality playing time last year, but Bryant kept his head on straight and stayed patient.

“I wasn’t trying to get down on myself and be negative,” Bryant said. “In practice I just continued to work hard and just prove to myself everyday that I can play.”

Lebo gave high praise to the Georgia native, who earned a career-high in points in 20 minutes of play.

“He’s a guy that has really worked hard,” Lebo said. “A guy that didn’t play a lot last year and hasn’t played much this year, his attitude has been good, he’s worked hard and he’s gotten better.”

The Pirates have another light game on tap against South Carolina Upstate on Sunday that may result in more playing time for Bryant and other depth players for the Pirates.

The Owls struggled through the first half. They shot 5-for-25 from the field (20 percent) and scored just 14 points. From the 9:11 mark of the first half, FAU made just one of its next 10 field goals. ECU went on a 10-3 run that put the home side on top, 28-9, with just under two minutes left in the half.

The Pirates exploited the weak FAU defense to start the second half as ECU slashed to the paint to score.

“Our coaches always harp on attacking in transition,” Tyson said after the win. “We’re a great team when it comes to transition. We can run, we can score the ball and we just attack off breaks. Our defense helps us out tremendously on that, too.”

Prince Williams scored six early points to open the half and finished with seven points in 11 minutes. Charles Foster played a season-high 15 minutes at the point and scored five points while showing improvement that Lebo noticed.

Lebo dug deep on his bench as most of the roster saw the floor. Former student manager Drew Bost sank the final shot of the game for the Pirates, a three pointer that brought a final eruption from the Minges crowd to end the night.