Hoops Mania to Reach Epidemic Proportions Thursday
January 14, 2003 | Men's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Off to its best start since 1958, East Carolina (10-3, 1-1) hosts No. 15/18 Louisville in a Conference USA American Division matchup Thursday night at Minges Coliseum on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. The game marks the Pirates' first appearance on the network since hosting Old Dominion on Feb. 20, 1995. A capacity crowd is expected to be on hand.
East Carolina, which has won six of seven games at home this season, is coming off a 83-62 loss at divisional foe Charlotte on Saturday. Four Pirates scored in double figures led by senior Travis Holcomb-Faye's 15 points. ECU's leading scorer, Derrick Wiley, also netted double figures scoring 14 points. Moussa Badiane and Belton Rivers added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Louisville (10-1, 2-0), winners of nine straight, remained undefeated at home with a win over Saint Louis, 73-54, on Saturday. Reece Gaines led all scorers with 22 points and Francisco Garcia came off the bench to score 13. The Cardinals are a perfect 3-0 on the road this season with wins over Seton Hall, Ohio State and Charlotte. UofL's only loss of the year was on a neutral court to Purdue.
The Pirates are looking for a repeat performance of last season's monumental victory over the Cardinals, as ECU defeated UofL at Minges Coliseum to pick up its first ever Conference USA victory on January 16, 87-77. Holcomb-Faye scored a career-high 20 points in the game and Moussa Badiane blocked six shots.
