ECU Looks To Stay Unbeaten At Home Against Charlotte
December 02, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2011
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| East Carolina vs. Charlotte Dec. 3, 2011 | 5 p.m. ET Greenville, N.C. TV: MASN |
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THE LATEST NEWS & NOTES
? East Carolina will play its first of six games inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum during the month of December on Saturday against Charlotte at 5 p.m. The game will be televised regionally on MASN. Live video will also be available at?ECUPirates.com (All-Access subscription required).
?East Carolina will look to open its home schedule with four consecutive victories for a second straight season. Last season, the Pirates won their first six games at home and finished the year 11-5 at Minges Coliseum.
?Saturday's game will be the first Division I home game of the season after hosting three non-Division I opponents.
?Junior Shamarr Bowden will face his former school for the first time since transferring during the 2009-10 season. Bowden spent two years at Charlotte, redshirting his freshman campaign, before going to Chipola College. Bowden is the only player other than Miguel Paul or Darrius Morrow to be the Pirates' leading scorer in a game (14 at Old Dominion).
?Freshmen Paris Roberts-Campbell and Francis Edosomwan will be facing their hometown school as each is a native Charlottean.
?Junior Miguel Paul reached double figures for the sixth consecutive game this season Tuesday against Old Dominion, scoring 10 second half points. Senior Darrius Morrow has scored double figures in five straight games after tallying just six points in limited minutes during the season opener.
?Morrow is 15 points shy of 10th-place on the school's all-time scoring list. He has tallied 1,174 points in 98 career games. He needs just four points to surpass Blue Edwards and move into 11th place.
?In its three games against Division I opponents, ECU is averaging 66.3 points and shooting 39.9 percent from the floor, while allowing 62.0 points and its opponents to shoot 40.6 percent.
?The Pirates ranks among the top 25 in the four NCAA statistical categories: steals per game (14th), 3-point field goal defense (15th), scoring margin (16th) and scoring defense (22nd).
?East Carolina has held five of its first six opponents under 30 percent shooting from behind the arc as well as under their season field goal percentage.
UP NEXT
? East Carolina will return to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Tuesday for its first-ever meeting against UMass. The Minutemen are coached by former Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg and have a 6-2 record heading into its game at Miami (Fla.) on Saturday.
QUICK SHOTS
?The Pirates have won each of their first three home games by double digits
?After playing three road games in December last season, ECU has just one road game this month and six home games; the Pirates went 2-4 last December with one of those victories coming against Charlotte
? East Carolina has scored first in five of six games this season, making a 3-pointer to account for its first points of the game five times
? ECU has allowed 30 or less points in seven of 12 halves played this season
? The Pirates lead Conference USA in 3-point field goal defense (.233), assists and steals (10.7), while ranking second in scoring defense (57.2), scoring margin (+16.3), assists (15.3) and 3-point field goals made (7.5)
? Miguel Paul ranks among the top 5 in six Conference USA individual categories
?He also has C-USA player single-game highs this season for free throws made (13)
? Darrius Morrow stands two made free throws from 400 for his career
? Five players are shooting 70 percent or better at the free throw line this season and three are shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc
SERIES HISTORY
? Saturday's game will be the 20th all-time meeting between ECU and UNCC. The series began in 1981 with the Pirates claiming a 65-64 win in Charlotte. The 49ers hold an 13-6 all-time advantage in the series. The two teams split their two meetings last year with the 49ers claiming a 74-63 win at the Charleston Classic and ECU holding on for a 62-61 win at home. ECU is 5-6 against Charlotte as a non-conference opponent.
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
? The Pirates enter Saturday's game following a five-point loss at Old Dominion on Tuesday. ECU was held to a season-low 58 points, shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor. Shamarr Bowden sank his first four 3-point attempts and finished with a team-high 14 points. The Pirates are averaging 7.5 3s per game, second in Conference USA behind SMU (7.7). Bowden and Miguel Paul both rank among the league leaders in 3-point field goals with Paul ranking fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.417) and leading the team in scoring (16.2 ppg). Senior Darrius Morrow anchors the Pirates' frontcourt attack, averaging 14.5 points per game and shooting .618 percent from the field. Maurice Kemp, Robert Sampson and Austin Steed have each at least one double-double this season with Kemp and Steed posting multiple double-digit rebounding games.
SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
? The 49ers are playing for the first time in a week after picking up a 70-66 win at Wright State on Nov. 26. Charlotte is led by 6-foot-9 junior Chris Braswell with 18.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Braswell scored 22 points in the win over Wright State. Sophomore guard DeMario Mayfield is second on the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game. He also had 22 points in the double overtime win at Central Michigan. The 49ers are 2-1 on the road this season with their lone road loss coming to Lamar. Charlotte has scored over 70 points in each of its three victories and been held under 70 in both of its losses.
