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News Nuggets, 11.05.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Pirates overpower Newberry in preseason warmup

East Carolina dominated overmatched Division II opponent Newberry at both ends of the court and sailed to a 90-45 win over the visitors Thursday night in an exhibition game.

ECU's backcourt was particularly productive on offense as the Pirates shot 48.5 percent as a team en route to the blowout victory, with sophomore guard Japhet McNeil and his freshman counterpart, Marvin Kilgore, scoring 14 points apiece.

Sophomore Mike Cook (13), junior Cory Rouse (11) and newcomer Josh King (11) also scored in double figures for the Pirates.

The team's performance provided some keenly sought answers for sixth-year ECU head coach Bill Herrion.

“We’ve got such a young basketball team with so many new guys and I think we went into tonight’s basketball game with a lot of unknowns,” said Herrion. “We needed this game badly and I was very impressed.”

McNeil, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half, added five rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Pirates.

Rouse and junior Mike Castro controlled the boards for ECU with each forward collecting nine rebounds on the night. Kilgore led all players with seven assists.

Newberry was led by forward Eric Nwawel. who recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pirates’ defense forced Newbery into 26 turnovers and held the Indians to 30 percent shooting from the floor (18-of-60), including a dismal 14.3 percent from behind the arc (2-of-14).

ECU will play its second and final exhibition game next Thursday, hosting Barton, before launching into final tune-ups for its Nov. 17 regular season opener against Pepperdine in the BCA Invitational in Raleigh.

Compiled from an ECU Athletics report.

Cardinals gun down Memphis in wild shootout

MEMPHIS — Eric Shelton scored his fourth touchdown from 1 yard out with 37 seconds left, and No. 14 Louisville held off Memphis 56-49 on Thursday night.

The Cardinals (6-1, 4-0 Conference USA) and their high-powered offense did just enough to keep the Tigers (5-3, 2-3) from beating a ranked opponent for the first time since 1996.

Shelton ran for 136 yards on 14 carries, including a 78-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He scored on three short runs in the second half, and Stefan LeFors finished with three first-half touchdown passes.

LeFors, the nation's most efficient passer, wasn't as sharp as his 76 percent season completion rate, but still hit on 24 of 34 attempts for 321 yards without a turnover.

It was a wild game that featured 10 lead changes, capped when Shelton scored from the 1 to put Louisville ahead 54-49. LeFors ran in a 2-point conversion, then the Cardinals intercepted a pass to seal it.

Louisville took a 48-40 lead after consecutive touchdown runs by Shelton, the second with 11:54 remaining.

Memphis answered when Danny Wimprine, who threw for four touchdowns and 361 yards, ran in from the 1 to make it 48-46. The Tigers failed on a 2-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game.

But the Memphis defense got a key turnover when Shelton fumbled a handoff with 7:36 left, and Wimprine went back to work on the Tigers 39.

He led his team to the Louisville 9, but after a penalty, two incomplete passes and a 2-yard run by DeAngelo Williams, Memphis settled for Stephen Gostkowski's 29-yard field goal and a 49-48 lead with 6:20 left.

That was plenty of time for LeFors, who found J.R. Russell for a 28-yard completion to the Memphis 27. The Cardinals ran the clock inside a minute, and Memphis couldn't stop Shelton from scoring the winning touchdown.

The second half was downright slow after a frantic first half that featured a combined 68 points and 703 yards of total offense.

The teams scored on five consecutive drives, and there were only two punts — on the Cardinals' first and last possessions of the half.

Louisville came in with the nation's 11th-ranked defense, but the Cardinals gave up 17 first-quarter points after allowing just one touchdown in their first six games.

LeFors bailed the defense out after the Tigers took a 24-14 lead on a 31-yard TD run by Williams, who finished with 200 yards on 26 carries.

LeFors found Russell diving across the goal line for a 32-yard TD pass, and the defense got into the act when safety Kerry Rhodes stripped Williams on third-and-20 and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-24.

Memphis, looking to become bowl eligible for the second straight year, wouldn't go away easily. Wimprine found Tavares Gideon for touchdowns on consecutive possessions -- the first to cut the deficit to 35-33 before halftime and the second to give Memphis a 40-35 lead in the second half.

That's when Shelton took over, scoring on Louisville's next two possessions sandwiched around Memphis' only punt.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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