East Carolina University
UNC Greensboro
Pirates Dominate Spartans, 97-53
December 13, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2008
Box Score | Quotes | Notes
Complete Box Score in PDF Format 
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina placed seven players in double figures and drained 15 3-pointers to coast past UNC Greensboro, 97-53, inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday for its fifth straight victory, its longest winning streak since December 2003.
Sam Hinnant led the balanced scoring attack with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. Jontae Sherrod came off the bench to add a career-high 13 points and connected on a trio of shots from behind the arc.
Jamar Abrams, James Legan and Brock Young all netted 12 points apiece, while Chad Wynn chipped in with 10 points.
Young tied a career-high with 12 assists to produce his third double-double of the season.
UNC Greensboro (1-6) was led offensively by Montel Smith with 11 points. Mikko Koisvisto and Pete Brown each added nine points respectively.
The Pirates trailed 15-10 before erupting on a 19-2 run, capped off by a Sherrod 3-pointer, to take its largest lead of the first half - 29-17 - with 8:46 remaining.
UNCG answered back with a 10-4 spurt to cut the ECU lead to six points, 33-27, at the four-minute mark.
Darrius Morrow dunked a pass from Young with 16 seconds left to send the Pirates into the locker room up by nine, 41-32.
ECU made 13-of-29 (44.8 percent) shots in the first stanza, including 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Spartans went 13-for-21 (41.9 percent) from the field and sank 3-of-12 (25 percent) 3-point attempts.
In the opening minutes of the second half, ECU buried a trio of 3-pointers, including two from Hinnant, to take a 54-38 advantage and force the Spartans into a timeout at the 16:25 mark.
The Pirates used four 3-pointers to produce a 23-4 outburst over the next eight minutes to seize control of the game.
The lead reached its largest of the contest when freshman Chris Kupets made a lay up in the final minute to set the final margin.
The ECU defense was especially stingy in the second half, holding the Spartans to just 18.8 percent shooting (6-of-32).
As a team, ECU shot an impressive 67.7 percent (21-for-31) from the floor in the second half, which included a 9-of-15 performance behind the arc (.600).
East Carolina will go after its sixth consecutive win Wednesday night when it travels to Raleigh to face N.C. State. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the RBC Center.
