ECU And Charlotte Tangle Saturday In Final C-USA Battle
January 28, 2005 | Men's Basketball
East Carolina will get its final opportunity to record a Conference USA victory over cross-state rival Charlotte Saturday when the 49ers make their last visit to Greenville as a C-USA member. Charlotte is leaving the league at the end of the season to join the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The game will be televised regionally by ESPN-Plus and will also be on the ESPN Full Court Pay-Per-View package.
The Pirates are hoping to carry new found momentum into Saturday's game after earning their first Conference USA win of the season this past Wednesday against Saint Louis. ECU rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to record a 60-53 win over the Billikens. Sophomore Mike Cook led the Pirates with 15 points, while junior Corey Rouse recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards. Freshman Josh King came off the bench to score 11 points, hitting 3-of-6 three-point field goals.
ECU, Conference USA's top rebounding team, dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Billikens by 17 and out-scoring them on second chance points, 21-1. The Pirates limited SLU to just six offensive rebounds, three of which came on their final possession.
Charlotte is coming off a 94-87 win over TCU at home Wednesday. Eddie Basden led the way with 22 points in the victory for the 49ers, who won for the 11th time in their past 12 games.
The last time the two teams played, Charlotte held off a late surge by ECU and won by 12. The Pirates trailed by as many as 19 with under 12 minutes to play, but rallied to pull within seven before a Mitchell Baldwin three gave the 49ers a 10-point lead with just over two minutes left.
ECU senior Moussa Badiane enters the game two blocks shy of surpassing former Cincinnati All-American Kenyon Martin as Conference USA's all-time leader in blocked shots.
When the Pirates entered Conference USA in 2001-02 the series between East Carolina and Charlotte was knotted at 4-4. Since ECU joined the league, the Pirates have yet to defeat their instate rivals, dropping all seven conference games against the 49ers.
