GREENVILLE, N.C. — Memphis basketball made the most out of this year's extra day, throttling East Carolina 82-58 Thursday at Minges Coliseum.

On Leap Day, the Tigers (21-8, 10-6 AAC) extended their winning streak to three games. The win draws Penny Hardaway's team to within a half-game of a three-way tie for fourth place (with SMU and UAB) in the league standings. The top four teams at the end of the regular season get a double-bye at the AAC tournament in Fort Worth.

Memphis welcomes UAB to FedExForum on Sunday (4:30 p.m., ESPN2).

Nae'Qwan Tomlin led the Tigers in scoring for the second straight game with 20 points, while David Jones had 18.

RJ Felton led ECU (14-14, 7-8) with 19.

Here are five observations from Thursday's game.

'David Jones being David Jones'

The affable Jones smirked at first when he was asked about his second-half performance against FAU last week. Then, he laid it out simply.

"Just David Jones being David Jones," he said.

The All-American candidate and the AAC's leading scorer was up to his old tricks versus the Pirates. ECU had no answer for the 6-foot-6 guard, who has scored 18 or more points 12 times in his past 14 games. It was also his sixth double-double in his past seven games. The only game he did not finish with a double-double was against Charlotte on Feb. 21, when he left the game with an eye injury early in the second half.

Jahvon Quinerly dictates the flow

With few exceptions, when a team's point guard plays well, it usually means good things.

Jahvon Quinerly has been exceptional his past three games. After averaging 15.5 points, six assists and one turnover in the Tigers' two wins last week, he had another fine outing against ECU.

Engaged and playing under control, Quinerly commanded control throughout the game. Although he wasn't as active in scoring points (10), he finished with seven assists (to two turnovers) and four steals.

Posting up

Hardaway said last week he was impressed by the smart play of Tomlin and Nicholas Jourdain on the defensive end, even though FAU's Vladislav Goldin scored 22 points and was 9-for-9 from the field.

Against ECU, Tomlin and Jourdain combined to be a heady force on the offensive end in the post.

Tomlin, who is emerging as a star for Memphis in recent weeks, followed his 21-point, eight-rebound game against FAU with 20 points and five rebounds against ECU. Jourdain scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. It's the most points he has put up since dropping 18 in an overtime win against UTSA on Jan. 10.

Sloppy yet productive first half

The good: The Tigers shot 55.6% from the field, had 11 assists on 15 made field goals and led 36-24 at halftime.

The bad: The Tigers, after committing just six turnovers in a big home win against FAU on Sunday, committed nine in the first 20 minutes. They also gave up eight offensive rebounds and had only one.

Such was the herky-jerky first half for Memphis. ECU had been 3-1 in its past four home games and had not given up more than 75 points to an AAC opponent at Minges Coliseum this season. But the Tigers brought their A-game inside the arc early. Despite hitting only three of its 11 first-half attempts beyond the arc, they were 12 of 16 on 2-pointers and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.

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Tigers' defense stout, too

In last week's wins over Charlotte and FAU, Memphis gave up an average of 63 points per game, a far cry from the week prior, when the team allowed 91 points a game in losses at North Texas and SMU.

The Pirates entered with the worst scoring offense in the AAC at 64.5 points per conference game. Against Memphis, they opened the game 0-for-7 and 2 of 13 from the field.

Memphis was also disruptive on defense. ECU committed 10 turnovers in the first half. It went into the game averaging 10.4 turnovers all season. The Pirates finished with 17 turnovers, tied for the most they've had in a game this season.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball pounds ECU for third straight win