East Carolina redshirt-freshman Darryl Freeney (Nansemond River) had the best receiving day of his short Pirate career during ECU’s 25-19 loss to Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Friday.

Freeney’s 80-yard catch and run for a touchdown off a pass from quarterback Patrick Pinkney gave ECU a 16-3 lead with eight minutes to go before halftime. Freeney finished with five catches for 112 yards. The touchdown was his second of the season. Freeney, a 5-foot-11 wide receiver, had 22 receptions for 352 yards for the season.

The SEC’s Wildcats (7-6) went on to outscore the Pirates 22-3 in the second half for the comeback win. East Carolina finishes the season with a 9-5 record and as Conference-USA champions.

Basketball notes

Chowan’s men’s basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Associtation) South Region and No. 9 in the nation. The Hawks are 7-5 overall and have a five-game winning streak going.

Jaleel Nelson (Lakeland) has started all 12 games for Chowan, averaging 12.6 points per game. Nelson, a 6-foot-5 junior guard, averages 57.8 percent field-goal shooting and 45.2 percent three-point shooting.

Freshman guard Mark Brown (Nansemond River) has made seven starts. Brown’s averaging 10.0 points per game while shooting 58.2 percent from the field, 46.9 percent from three-point range and 86.7 percent at the foul line.

Chowan hosts Virginia Union on Thursday evening.

Winthrop’s men’s basketball team snapped a 10-game losing streak, winning a Big South game against Liberty, 59-57, on Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C.

For the season, freshman Andre Jones (Nansemond River) is averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 20.7 minutes per game.

Winthrop’s (2-10, 1-2) early-season schedule has included losses to South Carolina, Davidson, N.C. State, Old Dominion and Florida.