Basketball Gameday: vs. UCF
February 07, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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| East Carolina vs. UCF Feb. 7, 2015 | 5 p.m. EST Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum |Greenville, N.C. |
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GREENVILLE - East Carolina returns to the court Saturday evening at 5 p.m. when it plays host to American Athletic Conference rival UCF inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
The Pirates enter the game following a hard fought 65-52 loss at reigning national champion UConn Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. The Pirates built a 10-point lead late in the first half, but the Huskies put together a 14-0 and 17-0 run in the second half to pull away.
Freshman guard B.J. Tyson led the Pirates with 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting, including a perfect 4 of 4 behind the arc, while sophomore forward Caleb White chipped in 11. Tyson also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Senior Paris Roberts-Campbell sank 3 of 4 3-point to finish with nine points, while junior Terry Whisant was limited to just eight minutes in the second half, but did make two 3s in the opening 20 minutes.
Despite his limited minutes, Whisnant remains second in The American with 3.1 3-pointers per game during conference play, shooting 47.6 percent. The Florida State transfer trails only UConn's Ryan Boatwright, who leads the league with 3.2 triples per game. ECU leads the conference with 8.9 3-pointers per game and has made 11 or more 3s in four of the past five games. Ironically, the only game in which they didn't make double digit 3-pointers was the only one of the four games in which it was victorious.
In addition to having the league's top 3-point shooting team, the Pirates have its best 3-point shooting defense, holding opponent to an average of 29.9 percent shooting outside the arc.
COACHES POWERING FORWARD AGAINST AUTISMThis weekend, college basketball is teaming up with Autism Speaks to raise awareness of autism - which affects 1 in 68 children in the US.
Spearheaded by NCAA basketball coaches Pat Skerry and Tom Herrion, with ECU Director of Basketball Operations on the advisory committee, Coaches Powering Forward for Autism provides coaches, their teams, schools and fans with opportunities to raise awareness, fund raise and advocate for the needs of people affected by autism.
ECU and UCF coaches will join hundreds of coaches, broadcasters and officials by wearing Autism Speaks' blue puzzle piece pins. Fans can join the effort by visiting AutismSpeaks.org/coachpower.
RADIO / TELEVISIONFans can hear Saturday's game live on the flagship station of the ECU Pirates, WNCT 107.9 FM, with Jeff Charles calling the action and Si Seymour providing analysis. The pregame show begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Fans also can hear the radio broadcast online by visiting ECUPirates.com and following the appropriate links to Pirates On Demand or by clicking here. A Pirates On Demand subscription is required to listen to the game online.
Fans can watch Saturday's game live on WatchESPN.com with Patrick Kinas calling the play-by-play and Nate Ross providing analysis by clicking here.
Fans can follow live stats by clicking the GameTracker link at ECUPirates.com or by clicking here.
ABOUT UCFUCF enters Saturday's game with a 9-12 overall record. The Knights are 2-8 in American Athletic Conference play, trailing the Pirates by a one-half game for eighth-place.
UCF enters Saturday's game on a five game losing streak with its last win coming in triple overtime, 103-100, over Tulane at the CFE Arena in Orlando on Jan. 14.
The Knights have been off since suffering a 75-56 loss at SMU on Jan. 31. Freshman Adonys Henriquez led UCF with a career-high 22 points, sinking 6 of 11 3-pointers, in the absence of fellow rookie B.J. Taylor.
Taylor, who missed the last two games against SMU and Temple after he suffered a concussion in the first half against Cincinnati, will return to the lineup this weekend. He leads the team and all freshmen in the league with 14.1 points per game which ranks seventh overall.
Henriquez is second on the team and ranks 16th in the conference with 11.4 points per game. The Orlando native has scored in double figures 14 times and has eclipsed the 20-point plateau three times on the season. He is fifth in The American in 3-point percentage (.410) and fourth in 3s made per game (2.4).
The duo of Taylor and Henriquez make UCF one of just three teams across the nation to have a pair of freshmen as its top two scorers. One of the two freshmen has been the team's leading scorer in 13 out of the Knights' 21 games this season.
Head coach Donnie Jones is in his fifth year at UCF, posting an official 64-64after having 21 wins vacated from the 2010-11 season. In more than eight years as a collegiate head coach, Jones has assembled an NCAA recognized record of 119-105. He previously served as head coach at Marshall for three seasons.
Jones has posted an 8-6 record against East Carolina during his career, including a 4-4 mark as UCF's head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will be the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams. The teams square off again at 12 p.m. on Feb. 28 at the CFE Arena in Orlando.
Saturday's game will be the first meeting in the series since Feb. 9, 2013, an 83-73 UCF victory in Orlando. It also will be the first meeting as American Athletic Conference rivals.
This will be the 21st time in the last 15 years that these two teams have met on the hardwood. The teams competed regularly from 2005-06 to 2012-13 as members of Conference USA.
UCF leads the all-time series 14-6.The Pirates have won five of the last eight meetings in the series which began on Dec. 30, 2000. East Carolina is just 3-6 against the Knights in Greenville, but did win the last meeting inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, 85-83 in overtime.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive the latest news and notes by following @ECUPirateHoops on Twitter. Fans also can discuss the latest ECU Men's Basketball news and notes on the team's Facebook page by clicking LIKE at East Carolina Men's Basketball.
