Pirates Look To End Drought Against Charlotte
February 21, 2003 | Men's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- East Carolina will look to snap a two-game skid as it hosts Conference USA American Division and instate rival Charlotte in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Pirates are coming off a 14-point to DePaul at home on Tuesday, while the 49ers will be looking to rebound from an eight-point loss at Marquette on Thursday. The contest is the Pirates' lone home game for the next two weeks.
The Pirates, who won't return home until its regular season finale date with Saint Louis on March 8, suffered a tough loss Tuesday at home to DePaul. Derrick Wiley led ECU with 18 points and Gabriel Mikulas added 14 points. Erroyl Bing reached double digit rebounds for a third consecutive game with 10, but it was DePaul who controlled the glass outrebounding the Pirates by 12.
Charlotte, which will be playing its second consecutive road game Saturday, was unable to avenge an early season loss at home to Marquette on Thursday. Although they played to a tie in the second half, the 49ers were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit, shooting just 34.8 percent from the floor. Demon Brown, the nation's leading three-point specialist, knocked down six triples to lead all scorers with 22 points. Freshman Curtis Withers also reached double digits scoring with 11 points.
ECU (12-11, 3-9 C-USA) currently resides in 12th place in the overall league standings, which would qualify it for the conference's postseason tournament to be held March 12-15 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. Only the top 12 of C-USA's 14 teams reach the conference tournament. UNCC (10-13, 5-6 C-USA) is currently tied with Houston for the No. 9 seed, but holds the head-to-head tie breaker with the Cougars.
Charlotte has won four in-a-row during the series, which dates back to 1981, and leads the all-time series, 7-4. East Carolina is 2-2 against the 49ers in Greenville. The Pirates last win over UNCC was Feb. 22, 1995, 89-77.
