Pirates Look To Get On Track Against Houston
January 20, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2012
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| East Carolina vs. Houston Jan. 21, 2012 | 8 p.m. EST Houston, Texas TV: None |
 Watch |  Live Stats |  Game Notes |  Tickets |  Gameday Central |
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THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAME
? East Carolina will look to end its longest losing streak of the year and avoid its second 0-5 start in Conference USA in the last three years. The Pirates have lost their first five games to begin C-USA play five times in their previous 10 years as a member.
? The Pirates are 4-19 on the road against members of Conference USA's West Division (Houston, Rice, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, UTEP) since 2006. They were 1-2 on the road last year against West Division foes last year, defeating Rice after losing to SMU and Tulsa. They are 0-1 this year after Wednesday night's loss at UTEP. ECU is a combined 1-6 in the city of Houston against the Cougars and Rice Owls.
? East Carolina is in search of its first win over the Cougars at Hofheinz Pavilion (0-3). The Pirates will also be looking to score consecutive wins over Houston for the first time after defeating it in Greenville last season (74-70).
? Since league play began, East Carolina is shooting 84.3 percent (43-of-51) at the free throw line. Maurice Kemp (14-14) and Darrius Morrow (14-14) are both perfect from the charity stripe during the Pirates' first three C-USA contests.
? After holding its opponents to less than 30 points in 14 of 26 halves during non-conference play, ECU has yet to surrender fewer than 30 points in any half during C-USA games.
? East Carolina held the lead of a grand total of 1:08 in the last four games. The Pirates held the lead three times against UTEP after not leading in any of their first three games.
? ECU is 0-5 this season in games decided by five points or less.
? Maurice Kemp, Darrius Morrow and Miguel Paul are the only players to score double figures in each of the first four C-USA games. No other player on the team has scored more than nine in a league game this year ( Paris Roberts-Campbell had nine against Southern Miss).
WHO TO WATCH
? Senior Darrius Morrow has scored double figures in 10 straight games, averaging 14.7 points per game and shooting 54.5 percent from the floor (54-of-99). Morrow is two rebounds shy of 700 for his career.
? Junior Maurice Kemp has posted a double-double in four of the last seven games and scored double figures in 10 consecutive games. Since being inserted into the starting lineup against UNC Greensboro, Kemp has averaged 15.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
? Junior Miguel Paul leads Conference USA in assists per game (5.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6). He has gone for 20 or more points five times this season and handed out more assists than committed turnovers in 15 games.
? Freshman Paris Roberts-Campbell seems to have found his stroke over the semester break. He has made 12-of-22 3-pointers during the past six games, scoring double figures twice. He netted 10 points against N.C. Central before torching the nets for 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting against Virginia-Wise, sinking a trio of 3-pointers..
SERIES HISTORY
? Houston leads the all-time series, 8-3. The Pirates are winless at Hofheinz Pavilion (0-3). ECU defeated the Cougars in Greenville last season, 74-70.
LAST TIME OUT
? John Bohannon had 17 points and 14 rebounds and UTEP closed the game on an 18-6 run Wednesday night to defeat East Carolina 70-56. Gabriel McCulley added 16 points for UTEP, which shot 52 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Pirates 39-19. Julian Washburn had 12 points and Michael Perez 10. Maurice Kemp and Miguel Paul each had 14 points, and Darrius Morrow added 12 for East Carolina. Paris Roberts-Campbell put East Carolina ahead, 45-43, with a 3-pointer and 12:26 showing on the clock. The Miners then scored nine unanswered points to take a seven-point lead, 52-45. The Miners (10-9, 3-2 Conference USA) led 52-50 with 8:25 left in the game, but pulled away when East Carolina missed all eight of its 3-point attempts, was 2-for-12 overall from the field and committed two turnovers down the stretch. The Pirates held brief leads on three occasions against UTEP -- at 7-6, 42-41 and 45-43 -- marking the first times at any point in the last four games they have been ahead on the scoreboard. Both teams shot the ball well in the first half with the Pirates connecting on 50 percent of its field goal attempts (13-26) and UTEP shooting an astonishing 71.4 percent (15-21). The Miners scored 24 of their 36 first half points in the paint. UTEP made 18-of-21 free throw attempts while the Pirates didn't shoot their foul shot until there was less than two minutes remaining in the contest.
LAST TIME WE MET
? Brock Young scored all 11 of his points in the second half and made two free throws with four seconds remaining to lift the Pirates to a 74-70 come-from-behind win over Houston inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. the Pirates trailed by 13 with 10 minutes to play and by 11, 62-51, with 6:27 remaining. A driving lay-up by Corvonn Gaines, two free throws from Jamar Abrams and another by Young pulled ECU to within six, 62-56, with 5:10 to play. Alandise Harris sank a 3-pointer to push Houston back to a nine-point lead with 4:02 to play. The Cougars didn't score again for almost four minutes. After Harris' basket, Young sank a 3-pointer, Gaines converted a 3-point play and Darrius Morrow, who finished with 18 points, got free underneath for a dunk to cut the Cougars' lead to one, 66-65, with 2:37 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Morrow came up with a steal to give ECU a chance to take its first lead of the game. Jontae Sherrod's 3-pointer missed the mark, but Abrams was fouled while going after a rebound. He promptly sank two free throws with 1:46 to play to give the Pirates a 67-66 lead. The Pirates didn't trail again. Sherrod led all scorers with a game-high 20 points and Gaines added 13. East Carolina made 9-of-10 free throws in the final 1:46. The Pirates were 24-of-28 in the second half, while Houston was 13-of-19 for the game. The Cougars committed three turnovers in the final four minutes, including a crowd-induced shot clock violation. Maurice McNeil led the Cougars with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Harris added 16 points and Brown scored 12. Zamal Dixon scored 10 points before fouling out.
UP NEXT
? East Carolina will return home Wednesday night to face Southern Miss inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum at 7 p.m. The Pirates fell to the Eagles by two, 78-76, in Hattiesburg earlier this year.
