East Carolina University
UVa.-Wise
Pirates Open Season With A Victory
November 13, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2009
From wire and staff reports
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Coach McCarthy UVa.-Wise Post-Game Quotes 
East Carolina Players UVa.-Wise Post-Game Quotes
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Chad Wynn had a double-double to lead East Carolina to a 77-60 win over Virginia-Wise on Friday night.
Wynn scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half as East Carolina (1-0) led 31-25 at the break. Wynn and Chris Turner each finished with 10 rebounds for the Pirates, who outrebounded the Cavaliers by 18. They also dominated on the interior, outscoring their foes in the paint, 52-18.
Darrius Morrow added 14 points, and Brock Young and DaQuan Joyner chipped in 12 each for East Carolina.
"We did a lot of things we wanted to do tonight," Pirate head coach Mack McCarthy said. "We got to look at some combinations. We played a very `vanilla' game in that we didn't let them do a lot of the things we will do throughout the course of the season."
After a closely contested first half, which ended with ECU holding a six-point lead, the Pirates quickly pushed their lead to double figures in the opening two minutes.
The Cavaliers refused to give and tied the game at 43-43 on a Travis Berry free throw with 12:07 left to play. Berry led UVa-Wise with 16 points.
ECU, which didn't trail in the game's final 32 minutes, pushed its lead back to five before Pance Kecev, who added 15 points for the Cavs, sank a three to brings his team to within one, 52-51, with 8:13 remaining.
From that point on it was all Pirates. Back-to-back dunks by Morrow and Chris Turner sparked a 16-4 run capped by a layup by Joyner to give ECU a 13-point lead, 68-55, with 4:10 left. The Pirates finished the game on a 25-9 run.
UVa-Wise got off to a hot start and held the lead with 12:17 left to play in the first half. The Cavs sank nine 3s, including five before intermission, to keep the game in doubt until the final minutes.
The Pirates return to action Sunday, November 15 against Wake Forest. The game is scheduled for a 2:05 tip-off at the Greensboro Coliseum.
