Men's Basketball Rallies To Defeat Coastal Carolina
November 29, 2003 | Men's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) --- Gabriel Mikulas scored 21 points to pace four players in double figures in East Carolina's 76-59 victory over Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
Moussa Badiane backed Mikulas with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Erroyl Bing had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Belton Rivers had 10 points.
Coastal Carolina shot 38 percent in the first half but hit six three-pointers and led 31-30 at halftime. The Pirates buckled down in the second half, holding the Chanticleers (1-3) to just nine field goals.
Trailing by seven, 41-34, less than three minutes into the second half, Rivers' second three-pointer of the night ignited a 23-5 Pirate run over the next 10 minutes to take an 11-point lead, 57-46, with 7:18 remaining. The Chants made just one field goal during that stretch.
The Pirates shot 47 percent from the field in the game and enjoyed a 42-23 rebounding edge.ECU (3-0) connected on 15 of its 28 shots (53.6 percent) after intermission after hitting just 10-of-25 (40 percent) in the first half.
E.J. Gallup converted 5-of-9 three-pointers on his way to 21 points for Coastal Carolina. Brandon Newby added 14. The Chanticleers finished with 11 three-pointers.
East Carolina returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at George Mason. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Patriot Center.
East Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina
Nov. 29, 2003
Postgame Quotes
East Carolina Head Coach Bill Herrion
"Coastal Carolina is a very good basketball team and we knew that coming into tonight. They have veterans, fourth and fifth year guys, and their guards are very quick and tough to defend."
"We guarded them really well but they stayed in the game with some tough three pointers, but our defense clamped down and a very solid efforts from our guys."
"Moussa played really well tonight, getting on the boards and wearing their defense down with his inside presence."
"We out rebounded them by 20 and only turned the ball over three times in the second, which was the key in this basketball games tonight."
Coastal Carolina Head Coach Pete Strickland
"You can learn so much about your team especially early in the year and you can learn a lot when you play good teams."
"This is an East Carolina team that is definitely going to be better than last year."
"They really got aggressive on us and we kind of backed off defensively a little bit."
East Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina
Nov. 29, 2003
Postgame Notes
