East Carolina University
Winthrop
Men's Basketball Suffers 19-Point Setback Against Winthrop
December 21, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2006
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GREENVILLE, N.C. --- Michael Jenkins scored 19 points to lead Winthrop to a 69-50 victory over East Carolina here Thursday night, sending ECU to its fifth consecutive loss.
Winthrop improved to 9-3 on the season with the victory, its best start in Gregg Marshall's nine years as head coach. The Pirates dropped to 4-6 overall.
Senior Torrell Martin added 15 points in the Eagles' victory, while Craig Bradshaw added 10 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds.
ECU junior Darrell Jenkins and sophomore Sam Hinnant led the Pirates with 12 points each.
With each team matching the other possession-for-possession on the defensive end in the game's first five minutes, it was Winthrop that managed to break out of the defensive battle with an 8-0 spurt to snap a 10-10 tie and take a 18-10 lead as the clock dipped under 10 minutes left in the first half.
ECU (4-6) responded with a 7-0 run of its own to trim its deficit to one and had a chance to take the lead on its next possession, but Courtney Captain's 3-point attempt hit off the back iron and Jenkins hit a jumper to push the lead back to three.
The Pirates trailed by three at halftime, 25-22, but never got any closer in the second half as the Eagles scored the first six points of the frame.
After shooting just 40 percent from the floor in the first half, Winthrop connected on 52.9 percent of its second half shots, while holding ECU to 33.3 percent in both halves.
The Eagles steadily increased their advantage, using a 26-11 run to take a 22-point lead, 60-38, with 8:38 left and eventually obtained a 24-point cushion.
Already at a disadvantage with 6-foot-9 freshman John Fields, Conference USA's leading shot blocker, sidelined with a shoulder injury, ECU was unable to keep Winthrop out of the lane as the Eagles scored 32 points in the paint.
The Pirates will be off for the next seven days before returning to action Thursday, December 28 against NC State. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at the RBC Center in Raleigh and will be televised on ESPNU.
