Gameday Central: East Carolina vs. Charlotte
February 26, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2014
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SETTING THE SCENE
? East Carolina goes after its fourth consecutive home win as it hosts cross-state rival Charlotte in its final Conference USA game inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. The game is scheduled for a 7:02 p.m. tip-off and will be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1.
?It'll be the final home game for a trio of Pirate seniors: Akeem Richmond, Erin Straughn and Petar Torlak.
?The Pirates have won each of their last two games and three of their past five overall. Charlotte enters the contest on a five-game losing streak. The 49ers have also lost five straight on the road.
?East Carolina and Charlotte rank one and two in Conference USA in 3-point field goal percentage. The Pirates lead the league at 36.4 percent (234-642) with the 49ers second at 35.6 percent (151-424).
?In conference play, the Pirates have the league's top 3-point field goal defense holding their opponents to 28.5 percent (73-256) shooting outside the arc.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
? Senior Day - Pregame ceremony honoring the three senior members of the team and halftime recognition of cheerleading and dance team seniors.
? First 2,000 fans receive a free Pirate foam hat courtesy of ACC Properties.
? First 1,000 students receive purple and gold pom pom.
? National Anthem being sung by 82nd Airborne Division's "All-American Chorus" from Fort Bragg.
? Special halftime recognition of SAAC for community service, canned food drive and Relay for Life involvement.
LAST TIME OUT
? Senior Akeem Richmond scored 23 points and Michael Zangari added 17 points to lead East Carolina to a 67-55 win over Rice at home Saturday. Prince Williams cam off the bench to add 10 points and grab a career-high eight rebounds.
? The Pirates built a 29-4 lead, but the Owls mounted a furious comeback and cut the lead to two, 46-44, with less than 10 minutes to play. ECU answered with a 9-0 run and its lead never dipped under nine points in the final six minutes.
PIRATE TALES
? Akeem Richmond is four 3-pointers shy of becoming just the 16th player in NCAA Division history to make 390 career 3s. He currently ranks 19th on the all-time list with 386.
?Freshman Caleb White has scored 17 or more points in five of the last eight games, including 21 against LA Tech to go along with a pair of 18-point games against UTSA and Middle Tennessee. He is looking to become the first ECU freshman since 2005-06 to average double figures.
?Paris Roberts-Campbell needs one steal to become the eighth-player in school history to record 50 steals in a season.
SERIES HISTORY
? Charlotte holds a 15-6 lead in the all-time series and has won four of the last five meetings. The 49ers won eight of nine C-USA games between the two from 2002-05.
?Thursday night's game will be the 10 meeting between the Old North State rivals as C-USA foes and first since Jan. 29, 2005 (ECU, 54-51).
ECU-CHARLOTTE CONNECTIONS
? ECU junior Paris Roberts-Campbell and Charlotte sophomore Braxton Ogbueze were teammates at United Faith Christian Academy in Charlotte and led the Falcons to a 31-7 record and finished as runner-up in the 2011 NCSIA 1A Championships.
? East Carolina junior walk-on Francis Edosomwan and Charlotte sophomore Mitch Warner each attended Charlotte Christian School.
? Both teams have Sunshine State transfers sitting out this season.
Cherryville's Terry Whisnant transferred from Florida State to ECU, while Ogbueze left Florida to join the 49ers.
LOOKING AHEAD
? The Pirates will play its final two regular season games on the road starting Sunday, March 2, at Marshall before closing out at Old Dominion on March 6.
