Hughes Leads ECU To Conference Opening Win Over USF

Wednesday, December 28

Greenville, N.C.

7 p.m.

East Carolina University

9-5,1-0American

USF

6-6,0-1American

USF

East Carolina

December 28, 2016 | Men's Basketball

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From wire and staff reports

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Elijah Hughes had a career-high 19 points Wednesday night and East Carolina held South Florida to 17 first-half points on its way to a 60-49 win in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Hughes had 11 points before the break when East Carolina built a 34-17 lead. The Pirates (9-5) made 19 of 33 free throws in the second half and held on despite making 3 of 18 shots from the field in the same period. B.J. Tyson added 11 points.

Geno Thorpe led South Florida (6-6) with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The Bulls closed to 40-32 with 11:05 left in the game and didn't get closer despite four more times closing the deficit to eight.

ECU improved to 6-7 all-time against the Bulls and 3-3 against them as members of The American.

IT'S A GAME OF RUNS

Leading 4-2, ECU scored 13 unanswered to take a 17-2 lead with 11:33 to play. After Guerrero ended the Bulls' drought, the Pirates scored six straight to take a 19-point lead, 23-4.
USF used a 7-2 spurt to cut the Pirates' lead to 14, 25-11. ECU responded with an 8-2 run to go up by 20, 33-13, as Sheppard completed a three-point play with 1:22 to play before halftime. The lead at halftime was 17, 34-17.
The Bulls outscored the Pirates 15-6 to start the second half and pull within eight, 40-32, less than 10 minutes into the second 20 minutes. ECU made just two of its first eight shots out of halftime.
ECU answered with a 7-2 run to go back by double figures, 47-34, before the Bulls trimmed their deficit back to eight, 47-39, with 6:49 to play.
The Pirates' lead never dipped below eight points the remainder of the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

East Carolina won its conference opener for the first time under coach Jeff Lebo. The Pirates' last conference opening victory was in 2009 when they defeated Tulane to open Conference USA play.
ECU forced 15 first half turnovers, the most in any half by an opponent this season. It was also the third time the Pirates forced double digit turnovers in a half. Presbyterian and Florida A&M each committed 10 first half miscues.
ECU limited to USF to 17 first half points. It was the fewest points allowed in half by the Pirates since holding USF to 16 first half points in Tampa last season (March 2, 2016).
The Pirates scored 20 points off turnovers in the first half, matching their season single-game high against Florida A&M. They finished with 22 points off turnovers.
East Carolina recorded season-highs for free throw attempts (38), steals (11), turnovers forced (18) and points off turnovers (22).
Hughes recorded a season-highs for points (19), 3-point field goals made (3), free throws made (6) and minutes played (26)
Andre Washington matched his career-high for blocks with six. It was the fourth time this season he blocked five or more shots in a game. He has 36 total blocks this season, which is the most by a player since Brandan Stith rejected 39 shots during the 2013-14 campaign.
Kentrell Barkley grabbed seven of his eight rebounds in the second half. It was the second consecutive game that he led ECU in rebounding and sixth time this season.
Jeremy Sheppard tied the ECU freshman single-game record for steals with six.
Caleb White moved into a tie with Bill Otte (1961-64) for sixth-place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,368 points.

QUOTABLE
"We're happy. It's hard to get a league win. They're just hard to get, especially when you're trying to claw your way from the middle to the top." – ECU Head Coach Jeff Lebo

NEXT TIP-OFF
The Pirates will host American Athletic Conference foe SMU on New Year's Eve at noon inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. The game will be carried by the American Sports Network and televised throughout eastern North Carolina on WITN.