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Michel
Nzege works inside for the Pirates during
their Monday night win over Charlotte. The
junior forward led all scorers with 21
points. (Al Myatt photo) |
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Next: Las Vegas
Invitational |
ECU at California |
Friday, 11 pm | TV:
Pac-12 Network |
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FOOTBALL |
'Desperation Bowl 2015' |
During
the preseason many thought this week’s East Carolina-Central Florida
game would help decide the East Division of the American Athletic
Conference. My how the mighty have fallen. ...
More from
Brian Bailey... |
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Audio: Brian Bailey
Show |
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The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guests this week were
Heather Macy (left), Ruffin
McNeill
(right) and
Ayden-Grifton football coach
Paul Cornwell:
Replay
show... |
View Pirate Radio
1250 Programming
Lineup |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
ECU fortifies front lines |
East
Carolina's recruiting class of 2016
has expanded to 15 with verbal
commitments from Mooresville High
School DT Jamil Dukes (left) and
Wake Forest Heritage High School OT
Jack Doyle (right). ...
Thumbnail
sketches... |
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BASKETBALL |
White, Barkley fuel Pirates in
opener |
GREENVILLE — East Carolina won its
season opening basketball game over
Grambling State 61-53 on Friday
night at Williams Arena in Minges
Coliseum as Caleb White scored 21
points. The outcome provided Pirates
coach Jeff Lebo with his 299th
career victory.
...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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BASKETBALL |
Pirates sail into uncharted waters |
East
Carolina will be entering the realm
of the unknown in several areas as
it hosts Grambling State in its
basketball opener on Friday at 8
p.m. "We don't have any film on
Grambling or anything," said
sixth-year Pirates coach Jeff Lebo.
...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL |
Season taking its toll |
One
of my media partners took time out
to ask East Carolina coach Ruffin
McNeill if he was okay after McNeill
met with the media late Saturday
night following the Pirates' 22-17
home loss to South Florida. He beat
me to the question. ...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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By
Al Myatt
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View stats on ECUPirates.com
View mobile alpha version of this page
GREENVILLE — East
Carolina showed some of the skills Jeff Lebo possessed as a player
at North Carolina in handing the sixth-year Pirates coach his 300th
career win on Monday night in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
ECU outscored Charlotte
88-74 with some Lebo-like shooting – 56.6 percent overall from the
field and even better behind the arc, 63.6 percent.
The Pirates were busy on
the boards and at the free throw line, too.
ECU held a 39-26
rebounding advantage and made 21 of 28 foul shots.
The Pirates are 2-0 and
the leading scorer from last year's team, B.J. Tyson, has one field
goal in two games.
"We have a team with a
lot of talent so if somebody is not having really a great
performance, somebody else can step up to the plate," said ECU's
Michel Nzege, who had a team-high 21 points.
Clarence Williams didn't
just step up, he leaped up. The junior college transfer supplied
nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Caleb White played with
customary efficiency, 20 points on six of seven shooting with five
rebounds and five assists.
Prince Williams made six
of seven shots and had 15 points.
Lebo noted that point
guards Prince Williams and Lance Tejada combined to play 40 minutes
without a turnover.
Prince Williams had no
choice but to pull the trigger on a 3-pointer with the shot clock
about to run out with 2:29 to go. The ball dropped through for an
84-69 ECU lead.
It was that kind of a
night for the Pirates, a far cry from the 31.1 percent field goal
shooting that accompanied
the 61-53 season-opening win over Grambling.
Story continues
after the following picture...
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ECU's
Prince Williams looks to create on the
offensive end against Charlotte. The senior
guard scored 15 points. (Al Myatt photo) |
Lebo didn't push the
panic button after the first game.
"You try not to address
shooting," said the ECU coach. "If you have to address shooting,
then you've got a problem. I just try to give them confidence that
they've shot and they've shot. Maybe get them in the gym a little
bit more. When I was a shooter, you have to see it go down a little
bit.
"We saw it go down
tonight. That really helps from a mental standpoint.
"We didn't really talk
about it. We talked about it from the standpoint of, hey, we won
this game against Grambling. We shot 30 percent. We're a much better
shooting team than that. The next game we'll make 'em."
Story continues
after the following picture...
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ECU
junior guard Caleb White followed up his
21-point Friday night outing against
Grambling with 20 points in the Pirates'
Monday night win over Charlotte. (Al Myatt
photo) |
While Lebo credited
assistant coaches and players for their roles in his 300 wins, which
includes previous stops at Tennessee Tech, Chattanooga and Auburn,
his sideline counterpart, former Georgia Tech and Cleveland
Cavaliers star Mark Price, is still looking for his first victory
with the 49ers.
"We knew this would be a
tough place to play," Price said. "East Carolina hit shots and kept
us at bay."
Price was hoping
Charlotte (0-2) could hang around and make a late run.
A 14-2 Pirates flurry
from a deadlock at 51 spoiled that notion.
Lebo had the upper hand
in two matchups from their playing days, too, including a contest at
the Omni in Lebo's freshman season with the Tar Heels.
UNC was ranked No. 1 and
the Yellow Jackets were No. 2.
Price stole an inbounds
pass by Lebo in the closing seconds with the Heels holding a
two-point lead.
Price, one of the best
free throw shooters in NBA history, missed one of two and Carolina
held on to win.
"I was probably the
happiest guy in the building," Lebo said.
The ECU coach may have
been more relieved than happy as his team found the range against
its former Conference USA foe.
The Pirate crowd of
4,276 left with a bit of a swagger after ECU pulled away.
The next challenge is to
improve road performance and that starts with a game at California,
ranked No. 14 in the coaches poll, on Friday night at 11, Eastern
time.