Pirates fall into a hole too deep

From electronic and staff reports
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Massachusetts scored the game's first 14 points and tacked on a 16-0 run in the second half, but had to fight off big East Carolina surges on both occasions before securing an 88-81 victory Saturday afternoon in Amherst, MA.

After trailing by as much as 16 in the first half, the Pirates (7-3) outscored UMass 21-11 over the final six minutes of the frame to go into intermission on the short end of a 42-36 score.

The Minutemen (7-3) boosted their lead to 19 points with 6:23 left in the game, but ECU roared back with a 24-8 run to pull within three at the 1:03 mark.

That's when junior guard Chaz Williams, who led UMass with 26 points, nailed eight straight free throws to clinch the outcome.

Senior forward Terrell Vinson and junior guard Jesse Morgan had 15 points apiece and senior guard Freddie Riley tallied 14 for the Minutemen.

Senior forward Maurice Kemp scored 26 points, junior forward Robert Sampson added 14 and junior guard Akeem Richmond contributed 11 to pace the Pirates.

ECU takes a brief Christmas break before returning to action with a home game against Norfolk State on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 5:30 p.m.

PAGE UPDATED 12/22/12 07:26 PM.

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