Pirates Continue Homestand Against Rice
February 03, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2012
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| East Carolina vs. Rice Feb. 4, 2012 | 5 p.m. EST Greenville, N.C. 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 extend a pair of streaks to three games on Saturday. The Pirates have won each of their last two games overall and each of the last two games in the series against Rice. A win would match ECU's longest Conference USA winning streak during its 11-year tenure.
?The Pirates and Owls rank one and two in Conference USA in steals per game. ECU leads the league with 8.6 steals per game followed by Rice with 8.0 spg.
?ECU is 8-5 at home this season and 1-3 against C-USA foes. Rice is 4-3 on the road and 2-1 against its conference rivals outside of Houston.
?After holding the lead for just 11:08 in its first six conference games, East Carolina has been ahead for nearly 58 (57:36) of the last 80 minutes played.
?The Pirates are shooting 72.9 percent at the foul line during league play, a stark contrast to its non-conference free throw shooting percentage of 68 percent.
?The ECU bench produced its highest output of the conference season on Wednesday, scoring 20 points against SMU.
?East Carolina has shot a higher percentage from the field in each of its last three games after having its opponent shoot better from the floor in the previous four games. The Pirates made a combined 48-of-90 (.533) field goal attempts in wins over UAB and SMU.
?In each of the last two games, the Pirates have held their opponent to under 30 points in the first half. ECU yielded a season-low 43 points to SMU Wednesday, the fewest points allowed since 2005.
?The Pirates' top two scorers, Miguel Paul and Darrius Morrow, were each held under double figures Wednesday by SMU. It was the first time this season that neither player tallied double-digit points in game.
PIRATES TO WATCH
? Senior Darrius Morrow moved into sole possession of fifth-place on the school's all-time scoring list Wednesday. He has scored 1,376 points during his 113-game career. He has grabbed 727 career rebounds and needs one board to move into sole possession of seventh on the ECU career chart. Morrow has scored double figures in 12 of the last 14 games, shooting 56.3 percent from the floor (76-of-135).
?Junior Miguel Paul is one assist shy of cracking the school's single season top-10 list. He has dished out 115 helpers in 21 games this year. Paul leads the conference in assists per game (5.5). Paul is also averaging a conference best 2.9 3-pointers per game in conference play.
?Junior Maurice Kemp has scored double figures in 11 of 12 games as a starter this season. He netted double digits in nine straight games before being limited to nine by Houston. Kemp didn't start versus Southern Miss, but returned to the starting against UAB and has scored double figures in each of the last two games.
?Sophomore Robert Sampson poured in double figures for the first time in conference play this season Wednesday with 13 points against SMU.
?Junior Erin Straughn has scored double figures in each of the last three games, marking just the first time in his career that he's scored double figures in three straight games.
SERIES HISTORY
? ECU has won its last two games against Rice to knot the all-time series at 5-5. The Pirates are 2-2 against the Owls inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
LAST TIME WE MET
? Jontae Sherrod knocked down a deep 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds to play to lift East Carolina to a 71-68 victory over Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse last season. ECU built a 10-point halftime lead, 43-33, as it made 8-of-15 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Jamar Abrams and Erin Straughn each knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the opening stanza with Sherrod adding two. The Pirates used a 13-5 run over the final 4:43 of the half to take its largest lead of the game into the locker room. The run began with consecutive 3s from Straughn and ended with back-to-back 3s by Sherrod. ECU shot 55.6 percent from the floor (15-27) in the first half and finished shooting 48.0 percent for the game (24-50). Rice also shot the ball extremely well before halftime connecting on 57.1 percent (12-21) of its attempts. The Owls also cooled off in the second half and finished at 44.9 percent from the field (22-49). Rice battled back from a 10-point halftime deficit to pull within 50-48 on a 3 by Tamir Jackson with 12:59 remaining. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Abrams and Sherrod extended the Pirates' lead to 58-49 with 10:35 remaining. Abrams hit another trey after Rice had tied the game at 65, but the Owls' Lucas Kuipers answered with a 3-pointer of his own with 34 seconds left to tie the game 68-68, setting up Sherrod's game-winner. Abrams had 18 points and Sherrod 17 for East Carolina, which attempted 27 3-pointers in the game. Brock Young dished out nine assists and didn't commit a turnover in 30 minutes of action. Jackson led Rice with 18 points, and Kuipers had 15. Arsalan Kazemi added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT
? ECU will host inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.
