Pirates Double Up Newberry in First Exhibition Game, 90-45
November 04, 2004 | Men's Basketball
"We've got such a young basketball team with so many new guys and I thin kwe went into tonight's basketball game with a lot of unknowns," said Pirate head coach Bill Herrion. "We needed this game badly and I was very impressed."
The Pirates were led by the guard combo of sophomore Japhet McNeil and freshman Marvin Kilgore who scored 14 points a piece. In addition, three more Pirates scored in double figures, including sophomore Mike Cook (13), junior Cory Rouse (11) and newcomer Josh King (11).
McNeil, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half, added five rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Pirates. Rouse and junior Mike Castro controlled the boards for ECU with each forward collecting nine rebounds on the night. Kilgore led all players with seven assists.
Newberry was led by forward Eric Nwawel who recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Pirates' defense held Newberry to 30 percent shooting from the floor (18-of-60), including a dismal 14.3 percent from behind the arc (2-of-14). ECU forced the Indians into 26 turnovers which turned into 37 points for the Pirates. East Carolina collected 16 fast-break points on the night.
ECU started the game on a 12-2 run to take the early lead. Newberry cut the lead to eight, 16-8, but that was the closest the Indians got all night. The Pirates finished the first half outscoring Newberry 34-15 in the final 11:45 to take 50-23 lead into the break.
King and Rouse led the way for the Pirates in the second half with eight and seven points respectively after the break. East Carolina expanded its lead late in the second half before finishing off the exhibition with two dunks in the final two minutes by newcomers Kilgore and Jonathan Hart.
Freshman Tom Hammonds scored nine points, Castro added eight points, Hart tallied seven and freshman Taylor Gagnon scored three to round out the scoring for the Pirates.
ECU returns to the court Thursday, Nov. 11 for the final exhibition game versus Barton College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
