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| East Carolina 68, Memphis 57 |
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 |
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| |
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1st
|
2nd
|
F
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| East Carolina |
28 |
40 |
68 |
| Memphis |
28 |
29 |
57 |
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| Quick Stats |
| Stats |
East Carolina |
Memphis |
| FG (Made/Attempts) |
20-50 (.400) |
22-57 (.386) |
| 3P (Made/Attempts) |
7-17 (.412) |
4-16 (.250) |
| FT (Made/Attempts) |
21-29 (.724) |
9-14 (.643) |
|
| Rebounds (O-D) |
35 (8-27) |
37 (12-25) |
| Assists |
16 |
13 |
| Turnovers |
10 |
15 |
| Fouls (tech/flagrant) |
13 |
23 (1) |
| Game Leaders |
| Stats |
East Carolina |
Memphis |
| Points |
J. Sherrod - 28 |
A. Barton - 15 |
| Rebounds |
J. Sherrod - 6 |
W. Barton - 8 |
| Assists |
C. Gaines - 5 |
C. Crawford - 5 |
| Steals |
C. Gaines - 4 |
C. Crawford - 2 |
| Blocks |
D. Morrow - 4 |
D.J. Stephens - 2 |
| |
| Pirate Basketball Central |
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By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- The horn sounded and Brock Young flung the basketball skyward before leaping into the arms of teammate Corvonn Gaines to celebrate in front of a roaring home crowd.
Yes, this was just one victory and East Carolina has games still to play. But there was no point trying to shrug off this moment like it was any other win. Not when the Pirates had secured the first winning season for the long-struggling program in 14 years.
Jontae Sherrod scored a career-high 28 points while fellow senior Jamar Abrams hit two huge 3-pointers during the decisive second-half run to help the Pirates beat the Tigers 68-57 on Wednesday night.
Abrams scored eight of his 11 points in the final six minutes for the Pirates (16-13, 8-7 Conference USA), who in their final home game added another big win to an already successful first season under coach Jeff Lebo. It was East Carolina's first win against the Tigers (21-9, 9-6) in 10 tries, though this win will be remembered more for ensuring the program will finish with its first winning record since 1997.
"It's unbelievable," said Young, a senior. "I think all of us came together when we were freshmen and said what we want to do is make a change around ECU. It took four long years, but it finally paid off. We stuck together and we held our head high through ups and downs."
"It wasn't easy," Abrams added quickly.
Indeed. East Carolina had 27 losing seasons in the past 35 years. But the Pirates set a school record for C-USA victories in February and the crowds steadily grew in Minges Coliseum as East Carolina's players tried to prove this year really could be different from all those other ugly seasons.
Now the Pirates head to the regular-season finale at UAB on Saturday and then the league tournament knowing they've already made a huge leap forward no matter what happens from here on out.
"This was a big one for us," Lebo said. "I told the kids (Tuesday) I had a good feeling that we could do it. Half the battle is getting your kids to believe they can do it. ... It's one thing recognizing it and believing it, and it's another thing believing in it and doing it."
On this night, that meant knocking down the huge shots that had traditionally never seemed to fall for the Pirates.
With the Pirates holding a 49-46 lead with six minutes left, Abrams _ who was just 1-for-5 shooting to that point _ hit a hurried 3-pointer over D.J. Stephens to beat the shot clock and send the home crowd into an ear-ringing roar.
Then, after Tarik Black made a free throw, Abrams took a pass, calmly stepped back behind the arc and launched another 3 over Stephens that dropped through the net to push the lead to 55-47 with 5:26 left.
Then sophomore reserve Erin Straughn came up with a critical play, grabbing an airballed shot in the paint from Darrius Morrow as the shot clock wound down and kicking it out to Sherrod. The senior got the ball off just before the clock expired and buried the 3, pushing the lead to 58-47 with 4:27 left.
That was more than enough cushion down the stretch, as Pirates fans spent the last 3 minutes savoring the victory. When the horn sounded, the Pirates made their way around Minges Coliseum to celebrate with the rowdy student section and give high-fives to fans on their way to the locker room.
"I'm happy," Sherrod said, shaking his head with a smile. "I'm happy for everybody."
The same couldn't be said for the Tigers, who haven't done themselves any favors recently while trying to bolster their case for an NCAA tournament bid. After losing by 15 at Rice on Feb. 19, Memphis was coming off a 74-47 loss at UTEP over the weekend and shot just 39 percent Wednesday night.
The Tigers also went just 4-for-16 from 3-point range, bringing them to 8-for-51 (16 percent) in their recent 1-3 slide. The frustration built until Memphis coach Josh Pastner was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with the officials with 1 minute left and the Pirates up 63-54.
We're just not making shots, that's what it comes down to," Pastner said. "Teams are really packing everything in on the inside. We've got to not turn it over ... and we've got to make some open 3s.
"We've just got to keep confidence and stay positive. By the law of averages, it has to work out that we're going to make some."
Antonio Barton scored 15 to lead the Tigers.
