Pirates Go After Fifth Straight Win Saturday
December 03, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2010
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| THE MATCHUP |
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| Category | East Carolina | Fayetteville State | |
| W-L | 6-2 | 3-2 | |
| Avg. Points | 70.9 | 93.0 | |
| Avg. Points Allowed | 62.1 | 79.4 | |
| Rebound Margin | +1.8 | +6.6 | |
| Field Goal Percentage | .446 | .459 | |
| FG Percent Defense | .403 | .455 | |
| 3FG% | .360 | .404 | |
| Free Throw Percentage | .679 | .673 | |
| Turnover Margin | -2.6 | +6.4 | |
| TEAM STAT LEADERS |
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| Points | J. Sherrod 13.6 | A. Roinson 17.5 | |
| Rebounds | D. Morrow 5.6 | S. Evans 8.6 | |
| Assists | B. Young 4.0 | A. Best 4.6 | |
| Blocks | D. Morales 1.8 | T. Plummer 3.0 | |
| Steals | C. Gaines 1.8 | S. Hawkins 2.8 | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. --- East Carolina will look to post its fifth-straight win Saturday afternoon as it host NCAA Division II foe Fayetteville State inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum at 5 p.m.
Since losing to Charlotte in the consolation round of the Charleston Classic on Nov. 19, the Pirates have rolled off four consecutive wins with their latest victory Wednesday night avenging their last loss defeating the rival 49ers by one, 62-61.
Junior Darrius Morrow converted a three-point play with 3.8 seconds remaining to give ECU its second-straight win over Charlotte at home. The Pirates trailed by 13 early in the second half, but rallied to go up by nine. The 49ers then scored 11 unanswered to reclaim the lead with 15 seconds to go, setting the stage for Morrow's heroics.
"It's a good winning streak, but we want to have a winning season," senior Brock Young said. "We haven't had a winning season in 14 years and [coaches] say that everyday. It's a motivation for us in practice. We just try to go hard everyday in practice and get better as a team."
The Pirates appear to be on the right path toward a winning season with a 6-2 record. Coach Jeff Lebo is just the second Pirate coach to begin his tenure with six wins in his first eight games. Former Pirate skipper Joe Dooley also began his ECU career with a 6-2 mark and finished his initial season with a 17-11 record.
The last time the Pirates had a winning season was Dooley's second year (1996-97) when they finished 17-11.
During its current four-game winning streak, East Carolina has out-scored its opponents by an average of 15 points per game and hasn't surrendered more than 67 points, while it has limited them to 35.5 percent shooting average.
ECU has held each of its last four opponents to less than 40 percent shooting, including the last three under their season average.
"[Coaches] preach everyday; defense, defense, defense," Young said. "It's instilled in us now, so all we know is defense, defense, defense."
Offensively the Pirates have taken advantage of what the defense has given and that's been mostly 3-point shots. ECU has knocked down nearly 43 percent (35-82) of its shots outside the arc.
The senior trio of Young, Jamar Abrams and Jontae Sherrod are all shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range the last four games. Abrams has made 9-of-18, Sherrod 9-of-22 and Young 5-of-11.
Sherrod sank 5-of-9 shots from outside the arc against Charlotte and finished with a game-high 19 points.
Saturday's game against Fayetteville State marks the first meeting between the two Old North State foes and the Pirates' third and final non-DI game of the year. ECU beat its first two non-DI opponents by an average of 25.5 points.
Fayetteville State enters the game off a 126-62 win over Johnson & Wales on Wednesday. Ariel Roinson scored 26 points in the victory and is the Broncos' leading scorer at 17.5 ppg. FSU is averaging 93 points per game and has been held under 80 points just once.
