East Carolina University
Tulane
Pirates Hold Off Green Wave, 69-66
January 07, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. - James Legan scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and East Carolina held off Tulane 69-66 Wednesday night in the Conference USA opener for both teams. The victory gave ECU its first league-opening win since defeating Marquette to begin league play during the 2002-03 campaign.
The Pirates (9-5, 1-0) snapped a four-game losing streak this season and a seven-game losing streak to the Green Wave (6-8, 0-1).
East Carolina made 27-of-33 free throws, including 8-of-10 in the final 1:51. Brock Young made four consecutive free throws to give the Pirates a 65-61 lead with 1:06 left.
Following a basket by Tulane guard Kevin Sims, ECU forward Jamar Abrams sank two free throws to push the lead back to four following his 10th rebound of the game.
After Young missed two foul shots with seven seconds left, Tulane's Daniel Puckett hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining to cut ECU's lead to 67-66, then Sam Hinnant made two free throws to clinch the win.
Tulane led 33-31 at halftime, but East Carolina went on a 22-8 run to start the second half and lead 53-41, keyed by 12 points from Legan. The Green Wave countered with a 20-8 run of its own and tied the game at 61 with 2:19 left.
Hinnant added 14 points for East Carolina, while Darrius Morrow, Chad Wynn and Young all contributed eight points each.
Puckett led Tulane with 22 points. Eric Vianney added 13 and Asim McQueen had 11.
ECU returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 10, against Marshall in Huntington, W.Va. Tip-off is slated for just after 3 p.m. and will be televised on CBS College Sports.
