East Carolina University
North Carolina Central
Men's Basketball Turns Back NC Central
November 26, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2006
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GREENVILLE, N.C. --- After a sub-par shooting performance in the first half, East Carolina regained its shooting touch in the second half en route to a 68-47 win over North Carolina Central here Sunday. The Pirates made nearly 57 percent of their second half shots (17-of-30), after shooting less than 30 percent in the first half.
The victory was the third straight for East Carolina (4-1), its first three-game winning streak since February of the 2003-04 season. The loss was the first of the season for NC Central (2-1).
Senior Courtney Captain led a trio of Pirates in double figures with a game-high 16 points. Junior Darrell Jenkins chipped in 11 points and freshman John Fields scored 10.
NCCU senior Drew Johnson led the Eagles with 16 points, while fellow senior Jason Hervey netted 13 points.
ECU scored its first nine points on 3-pointers, two by Jenkins and another by Captain, and led by six early, but could never gain more than a seven-point lead in the first half as the pesky Eagles didn't allow the Pirates to get many high percentage shots. The half ended with the Pirates clinging to a six-point lead, 23-17.
Less than six minutes into the second, ECU doubled its lead behind consecutive 3s from sophomore Sam Hinnant, the second of which put ECU ahead 40-28 with 14:34 left.
NCCU had cut its deficit to two, 28-26, before Captain and Hinnant made four consecutive 3s to bolster the lead to 12 as part of 26-7 run that eventually pushed ECU's lead to 21, 54-33, with 7:28 left.
The Pirates' made 6-of-9 3-pointers after halftime and finished 8-for-20 from behind the arc. Conversely, NCCU made just a single 3-pointer the entire game and shot a woeful 1-for-14 from 3-point range.
ECU will have six days off before returning to the hardwood. The Pirates' next game is Saturday, December 2, on the road at Liberty. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Lynchburg, Va.
