ECU Looks To Even Season Series With Charlotte
November 30, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2010
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| THE MATCHUP |
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| Category | ECU | Charlotte | |
| W-L | 5-2 | 3-4 | |
| Avg. Points | 72.1 | 72.6 | |
| Avg. Points Allowed | 62.3 | 73.4 | |
| Rebound Margin | +2.3 | +1.4 | |
| Field Goal Percentage | .450 | .419 | |
| FG Percent Defense | .405 | .429 | |
| 3FG% | .356 | .327 | |
| Free Throw Percentage | .684 | .723 | |
| Turnover Margin | -2.9 | -3.4 | |
| TEAM STAT LEADERS |
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| Points | J. Sherrod 12.9 | S. Spears 17.0 | |
| Rebounds | D. Morrow 5.3 | P. Jones 6.5 | |
| Assists | C. Gaines 4.1 | D. Green 4.9 | |
| Blocks | D. Morales 1.7 | P. Jones 2.3 | |
| Steals | C. Gaines 2.0 | J. Briscoe 2.4 | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. --- East Carolina will look to make it four wins in-a-row and avenge its last loss Wednesday night as the Charlotte 49ers visit Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum at 7 p.m.
Since losing to Charlotte in the consolation round of the Charleston Classic less than two weeks ago, the Pirates have recorded three straight wins and have won their last two games by more than 20.
In their three games since the Charlotte loss, the Pirates have shot 45, 52 and 54 percent from the floor and 45 percent (26-58) overall beyond the 3-point line. Against Charlotte, ECU made just 3-of-23 3-pointers (13.0percent), including 0-for-12 in the second half.
"I thought we actually played better against them than we did against N.C. State [in the opening round of the tournament], but we didn't finish it off by making buckets," Pirate coach Jeff Lebo said. "Hopefully we can shoot the ball a little better against them."
The Pirates have shot the ball well at home this season, connecting on better than 49 percent of its field goal attempts in their last three games on the Williams Arena floor.
Last time out against UNC Greensboro, four players scored double figures as the Pirates posted an 81-53 victory. Junior Darrius Morrow led the charge with 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, while Jontae Sherrod came off the bench to add 17 points. Jamar Abrams had 13 as he missed just a single field goal (5-of-6) and was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
"I was really pleased with how well we played in our last game," Lebo said. "Now the question will be, can we take another step forward? They felt pretty good about themselves and the way they played against [UNC] Greensboro, but you can't be satisfied and stand where you're at or you're going to get run over."
A win Wednesday night would be another step forward.
The cross-state rivalry has been very one sided with Charlotte winning 13 of 18 games, including 10 of the last 11. The Pirates are just 3-5 against the 49ers in Greenville, but did prove victorious the last time Charlotte played here in 2005.
East Carolina shot under 40 percent in each of the last two meetings against Charlotte and didn't reach the 70-point plateau in either game. The suffered an 80-68 loss at Halton Arena last season.
All five Charlotte starters scored double figures in Charleston led by senior Shamari Spears, who has been suspended indefinitely, with 15. Junior guard Derrio Green had 14 points with Jamar Briscoe scoring 12 and Chris Braswell and An'Juan Wilderness adding 11 each.
The Pirates defense has stymied each of its last three opponents holding them all to 35 percent shooting or worse. ECU will look to do the same to Charlotte who is coming off a season-best 51 percent shooting performance against Radford on Saturday.
