Pirates Looks To Round Up The Herd Saturday
February 12, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2011
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| THE MATCHUP |
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| Category | East Carolina | Marshall | |
| W-L | 13-10, 5-4 | 15-9, 3-6 | |
| Avg. Points | 69.1 | 72.7 | |
| Avg. Points Allowed | 65.6 | 66.1 | |
| Rebound Margin | -0.1 | +2.5 | |
| Field Goal Percentage | .436 | .450 | |
| FG Percent Defense | .422 | .403 | |
| 3-Point Percentage | .356 | .333 | |
| Free Throw Percentage | .694 | .654 | |
| Turnover Margin | -1.1 | +0.4 | |
| TEAM STAT LEADERS |
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| Points | J. Sherrod- 15.1 | D. Kane - 15.5 | |
| Rebounds | D. Morrow - 5.4 | T. Baines - 7.1 | |
| Assists | B. Young - 4.4 | D. Kane - 3.5 | |
| Blocks | D. Morales - 1.0 | N. Spikes - 0.9 | |
| Steals | C. Gaines - 1.4 | D. Kane - 0.9 | |
Playing at home in basketball is probably more advantageous than in any other sport. East Carolina is hoping that being home Saturday works in its favor for a third consecutive date as it host Marshall in a Conference USA match-up at 5 p.m.
Attendance inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum has increased each of the last two games with the crowd of 6,567 last Saturday against UCF being the largest to pass through the turnstiles for a C-USA game since more than 7,500 people came out to see the Pirates battle Memphis in 2006.
ECU overcame a six-point halftime deficit to defeat UCF and a 13-point second half deficit against Houston to win its last two home games.
"Our last two home wins can be attributed to the energy level of our crowd," Pirate head coach Jeff Lebo explained. "They gave us energy and may have rattled [opponent] down the stretch. It was fun to play in that environment and you'd like to see that consistently."
A sellout crowd is expected on Saturday.
ECU (13-10, 5-4) has won four of its last six games and has a winning record this late in the season for the first time in eight years. The Pirates are one game out of fourth place and 1 1/2 games out of second place.
East Carolina has never swept the season series from Marshall, but has the opportunity Saturday after it defeated the Herd in Huntington, W.Va. earlier this season for the first time.
Junior Darrius Morrow was simply unstoppable from the field in the first meeting. Morrow scored 33 points, dominating inside the paint as he shot 11-of-17. The only time Marshall could contain Morrow was at the foul line where he made just 11-of-21. However, his 11th came with five seconds remaining to complete the game-winning three-point play as ECU rallied from 15 points down to win, 82-81.
Senior Jontae Sherrod added 19 points, 15 of them on 3-pointers. Jamar Abrams and Robert Sampson each added a 3-pointer for the Pirates, who finished 7-of-15 behind the arc.
Overall, both teams shot the ball extremely well with ECU making 55.1 percent of its shots and Marshall connecting of 54.9 percent of its field goal attempts.
Marshall (15-9, 3-6) is coming off a 64-48 loss to UAB at home Wednesday night, its second straight setback. The Thundering Herd previously escaped Houston with a one-point win over the Cougars after a 17-point rout of Memphis to close out January.
"They are coming off a disappointing game at home, where they didn't play particularly well and shot the ball poorly," Lebo said. "We know they'll be ready to play and we'll have our work cut out for against a terrific and talented Marshall team."
Junior Damier Pitts had 19 points during Wednesday's loss to UAB. Pitts ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game behind freshman sensation DeAndre Kane (15.5 ppg) who ranks as the fifth-highest scoring rookie in the country.
Kane was one of four players to score double figures against ECU last month with senior Tirrell Baines leading the Herd with 21 points.
ECU's earlier win over Marshall was preceded by a win over UCF. The Pirates will look for a repeat after beating the Knights last Saturday, 68-61. The Pirates have not beaten the Herd in Greenville since 2008 and are just 3-8 against them as C-USA rivals.
