ECU Begins C-USA Championship Run Against UCF
March 09, 2011 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2011
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| THE MATCHUP |
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| Category | East Carolina | UCF | |
| W-L | 16-14, 8-8 | 19-10, 6-10 | |
| Avg. Points | 68.2 | 69.4 | |
| Avg. Points Allowed | 67.0 | 62.6 | |
| Rebound Margin | +1.2 | +2.2 | |
| Field Goal Percentage | .430 | .452 | |
| FG Percent Defense | .432 | .402 | |
| 3-Point Percentage | .357 | .346 | |
| Free Throw Percentage | .689 | .696 | |
| Turnover Margin | -0.3 | -0.7 | |
| TEAM STAT LEADERS |
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| Points Per Game | J. Sherrod- 15.6 | M. Jordan - 15.9 | |
| Rebounds Per Game | D. Morrow - 5.3 | K. Clanton - 8.2 | |
| Assists Per Game | B. Young - 4.4 | M. Jordan - 3.3 | |
| Blocks | D. Morrow - 19 | K. Clanton - 55 | |
| Steals | C. Gaines - 48 | K. Clanton - 30 | |
For the first time in its 10-year Conference USA association, East Carolina will open up tournament play as the higher seed when it faces UCF in the first round of the 2011 Buick Conference USA Championship Wednesday morning (11 a.m. MST/1 p.m. EST).
The Pirates enter the championship tournament as the No. 8 seed after finishing with a program-best record of 8-8 in Conference USA. The Knights are the ninth-seed with a C-USA record of 6-10. The winner faces top-seeded UAB Thursday at 11 a.m. MST.
Both teams had their three-game winning streak snapped Saturday on the road. The Pirates suffered a 66-48 loss at UAB, while UCF fell at Marshall, 83-69.
The Pirates shot a miserable 18.5 percent in the first half against the Blazers and trailed by 18 at halftime, 31-12. ECU closed the gap to 38-25 early in the second half before UAB put together a 12-5 run that pushed its lead to 20. Darrius Morrow and Corvonn Gaines each had 13 for the Pirates.
Morrow was one of the catalysts in the Pirates' success against the Knights this season, averaging 14.5 points and seven rebounds in the two meetings, both won by ECU.
Senior Jontae Sherrod, a third-team all-conference player, scored 21 points in the Pirates' 74-62 win at UCF and then dropped in 23 in the 68-61 home triumph.
Fellow senior Jamar Abrams has a history of big games against the Knights, topping 20 points in three of the last six games in the series including a career-high 28 points at home as a junior.
Marcus Jordan scored 27 points and Damier Pitts had 25 in the Knight's regular season finale loss to Marshall. UCF trailed by 16 at halftime, but never got closer than 12 points in the second stanza.
Jordan, a second-team All-Conference USA performer, had 11 points against ECU in the first meeting and then scored 24 points against the Pirates in Greenville. Third-team all-conference selection Keith Clanton averaged 9.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in the two games.
The Pirates trail 11-4 in the all-time series, but have won four of the last six games, including three in-a-row.
