Pirates Face Oregon State In BCA Semifinal
November 18, 2004 | Men's Basketball
East Carolina will take on Oregon State in the semifinals of the 2004 BCA Invitational at the RBC Center in Raleigh Thursday night at 9 p.m., following the NC State-Elon winner. The Pirates advanced to the semifinals with a 22-point victory over Pepperdine in the opening round.
Sophomore Mike Cook led four ECU players in double figures with a career-high 21 points. Trailing by seven, 41-34, with 17:17 left in the game, East Carolina outscored the Waves 46-17 the rest of the game. ECU shot 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the field after intermission, including 6-of-8 from the experimental three-point line. The Pirates also dramatically improved its free throw after halftime. ECU made just 6-of-15 fouls shots in the first half, but ripped the nets for 13-of-19 free throws in the second half.
Freshmen Tom Hammonds and Josh King each scored double figures in their ECU debuts with 12 and 11 points respectively. Sophomore Japhet McNeil also added 12 points in the victory.
Rare PAC-10 Meeting
Thursday night's game against Oregon State will be just the Pirates' second contest against a PAC-10 team. ECU's only previous meeting against a PAC-10 team was against Arizona in 1975. The Wildcats defeated East Carolina, 94-78, during the Collegiate Commissioner's Tournament in Louisville. Ky.
Second BCA Semifinals Appearance
The Pirates advanced to the semifinals of the BCA Invitational for the second time in as many appearances. ECU defeated Rutgers in the opening round of the 2001 tournament to reach the semifinals. In the semis against Big 10 Conference opponent Northwestern, the Pirates made a school-record 17 three-point field goal to reach the championship game.
Badiane To Make Season Debut Against The Beavers
East Carolina senior center Moussa Badiane will make his season debut against Oregon State Thursday night. Badiane missed the opener against Pepperdine after being declared ineligible for one-game by the NCAA for his participation in a non-sanctioned summer league. Badiane averaged 8.5 points and 6.3 rebounds a year ago, while blocking 90 shots. He ranked sixth nationally in blocks per game (3.33) and is on pace to become Conference USA's greatest shot blocker.
