East Carolina University
UNC Greensboro
Pirates Complete Comeback To Avoid UNCG Upset, 71-62
December 16, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2011
| East Carolina 71, UNC Greensboro 62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From wire and staff reports
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Miguel Paul scored 17 points and Darrius Morrow posted his first double-double of the season as East Carolina rallied to beat UNC Greensboro 71-62 Friday night, snapping a three-game losing streak.
The Pirates (5-4) led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but UNC Greensboro cut the margin to 28-26 at halftime and went ahead 40-39 with 14:17 remaining on a 3-pointer by Trevis Simpson.
Simpson, who scored 24 points, scored 13 straight points for the Spartans to turn a four-point deficit into an eight-point lead, 48-40, in a span of 2:55.
A Korey Van Dussen basket gave UNCG its biggest lead at 50-40 with 11:19 left and, after an ECU 3-pointer by Miguel Paul cut the lead to 50-43, Simpson gave UNCG a 52-43 advantage with a basket at the 10:36 mark.
The Pirates then switched to a full-court press, forcing five turnovers over the next four minutes and scored 15 unanswered points to reclaim a six-point lead with 6:53 to play.
The spurt began with a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Paris Roberts-Campbell, which he followed with a steal resulting in a Maurice Kemp basket. A pair of Morrow free throws followed by another Roberts-Campbell steal and a game-tying basket by Paul helped the Pirates erase a 10-point deficit in just under three minutes.
A missed 3-pointer by UNCG turned into the go-ahead basket for East Carolina as Greensboro native Shamarr Bowden buried his second 3-pointer of the game. Bowden later made a pair of free throws to cap the run, scoring 13 points off UNCG's miscues during the stretch.
The Pirates didn't allow the Spartans to get closer than four points the rest of the way, and East Carolina was 5-of-6 at the free throw line in the final minute to seal the victory.
Morrow, who grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, made the Pirates' final field goal of the evening with a dunk and in the process moved into seventh-place on the school's all-time scoring. He finished the night with 13 to bring his 101-game career game total to 1,200 points.
Kemp added 13 points in the victory, while Bowden, Roberts-Campbell and Austin Steed scored eight points apiece. The Pirates finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor, but continued to struggle at the charity stripe as they connected on 56.3 percent of its free throw attempts (18-of-32).
ECU limited UNC Greensboro to just 37.7 percent shooting from the floor, including 20.8 percent from behind the arc (5-of-24). The Pirates also forced 18 turnovers, scoring 26 points on those extra opportunities.
Van Dussen chipped in with 11 points for the Spartans, while Aaron Brackett had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
The Pirates return to action Monday, Dec. 19 against Coastal Carolina. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
