East Carolina University
Wofford
Men's Basketball Outlasts Wofford In Overtime
November 26, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2005
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - Junior Japhet McNeil made two free throws with 0:20.2 remaining in overtime to lift East Carolina to a 70-68 victory over Wofford here Saturday. McNeil scored five of his seven points during the overtime period and finished with a career-high six steals.
Overtime was forced when Wofford guard Eric Marshall drained a three-pointer with three seconds to go in regulation. The Terriers nearly won the game in regulation after the Pirates turned the ball over, but Marshall's next three-point attempt was off the mark.
During the overtime period, East Carolina (2-1) built itself a seven-point lead and held that margin with under a minute to play on a lay up by junior college transfer Tyronne Beale, 68-61. Wofford (2-3) then scored the next seven points to tie the game capped by another three-point basket by from Marshall with 0:26 left to set up the stage for McNeil. Wofford then had two shots to win, but Marshall and Drew Gibson's three-point attempts missed.
"This really was a great college basketball game," said Pirate head coach Ricky Stokes. "In the first half Wofford made us play faster then we really wanted to, but in the second half we were able to slow things down. Both teams played hard tonight and although it wasn't pretty, we were able to get the win."
Both teams launched three-pointers at a high rate, but neither shot a high percentage as Wofford finished the game shooting 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from behind the arc, while ECU connected on just 18.8 percent of its threes (3-of-16).
The Terriers seized early control of the game and led the majority of the first half, but the Pirates ended the period on an 11-2 run to claim a 26-23 halftime lead.
Wofford scored 12 of the first 15 points of the second half to build a six-point lead and take the first of 10 lead changes in the half. The lead changed hands a total of 19 times during the game with neither team ever leading by more than six points before overtime.
Wofford's Howard Wilkerson and Shane Nichols led all scorers with 17 points each, while Beale and senior Corey Rouse each scored 14 points to pace ECU. Rouse also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
The Pirates' Courtney Captain was the lone remaining player to score double figures as he finished with 11 points.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday night, November 30, at the Benjamin Johnson Arena on the Wofford campus. Tip-off is set for 7 pm. in Spartanburg, S.C.
