NCAA BASKETBALL ::: Pirates pluck Owls, win third straight [bk-020412]

East Carolina played a solid game around the lane, got double-figure scoring from five players and made an offensive surge when it counted most to knock off Conference USA foe Rice 82-68 Saturday evening in Greenville.

The Pirates (12-10, 3-6 C-USA) led 69-64 with 4:10 to play when senior forward Darrius Morrow hit a free throw to kick-start the scoring outburst. Freshman guard Paris Roberts-Campbell nailed a three-pointer 35 seconds later and a 13-4 ECU run in the game's closing minutes was underway.

Morrow scored 16 points, junior forward Maurice Kemp had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Miguel Paul added 14 points for East Carolina.

Junior guard Corvonn Gaines and Roberts-Campell contributed 13 apiece for the Pirates, who picked up their third win in a row, all over C-USA opponents, after starting the league slate with six losses.

"This was a big one for us," Kemp said after the game. "We're trying to build momentum going down the stretch."

Freshman guard Dylan Ennis scored a game-high 21 points and junior guard Tamir Jackson had 17 to pace the Owls (13-11, 4-5).

East Carolina won the rebounding battle 39-29 and particularly benefitted from timely carom recoveries in the offensive paint, scoring 14 second-chance points while limiting Rice to 2.

The Owls' last lead, 54-53, came on a layup by 7-foot-2 sophomore center Omar Oraby with 12:38 left. East Carolina took the lead for good on a three by sophomore forward Robert Sampson 19 seconds later.

East Carolina defended the perimeter more effectively as the game progressed. Rice hit seven of its 10 attempts from long distance in the first half but went 0-for-5 from long range in the second half.

The Pirates will have a chance to earn their fourth league win when they host defending C-USA champion Memphis Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Tigers (16-7, 6-2) are coming off a come-from-behind 72-68 victory over Xavier on Saturday.

BOX SCORE

EAST CAROLINA 82, RICE 68

Date: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
Place: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC
Attendance: 5,212
Records: ECU 12-10 (3-6 Conference USA); Rice 13-11 (4-5)

SCORE BY PERIODS     1   2  FINAL
Rice                38 30 - 68
East Carolina       39 43 - 82

RICE OWLS
# PLAYER                    FG   3PT    FT R PTS MIN
.........................    ..   ...    .. . ... ...
00 Ibrahim, Ahmad...... f   0-3   0-1   2-2 0   2 22
12 Reischel, Jarelle... f   2-5   0-0   4-6 1   8 19
14 Kazemi, Arsalan..... f   0-2   0-0   1-2 8   1 23
04 Frizzelle, Connor... g   2-5   0-2   2-2 1   6 30
31 Ennis, Dylan........ g 7-12   5-7   2-4 5 21 31
01 Schwarze, Nate........   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   1
03 Jackson, Tamir........ 6-10   2-4   3-5 6 17 30
05 Herndon, Emerson......   1-1   0-0   1-2 1   3   2
15 DeBose, Julian........   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   6
20 Kuipers, Lucas........   0-2   0-0   2-2 2   2 12
30 Chadwick, David.......   1-2   0-1   0-0 1   2   7
34 Oraby, Omar...........   3-7   0-0   0-2 1   6 16
41 Gearhart, Seth........   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   1
TEAM.....................                    3
TOTALS................... 22-49 7-15 17-27 29 68 200
PERCENT.................. 44.9 46.7 63.0

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
# PLAYER                    FG   3PT    FT R PTS MIN
.........................    ..   ...    .. . ... ...
01 Morrow, Darrius..... f 7-10   0-0   2-4 7 16 29
02 Kemp, Maurice....... f 6-13   0-1   2-3 11 14 27
00 Paul, Miguel........ g 3-10   2-6   6-9 3 14 36
20 Bowden, Shamarr..... g   3-7   2-5   0-0 0   8 22
23 Straughn, Erin...... g   0-2   0-1   0-0 2   0 14
11 Gaines, Corvonn.......   5-6   3-3   0-0 5 13 22
12 Sampson, Robert.......   1-6   1-4   1-2 9   4 24
22 CAMPBELL, Paris.......   4-6   2-3   3-4 1 13 26
TEAM.....................                    1
TOTALS................... 29-60 10-23 14-22 39 82 200
PERCENT.................. 48.3 43.5 63.6

Fouled out: None
Technical Fouls: Ahmad Ibrahim 2; Corvonn Gaines; ECU team.
Officials: Rick Randall, Greg Rennegarbe, Rick O'Neill