Pirates bounce back with road win

From electronic and staff reports
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

Junior forward Ty Armstrong, senior forward Maurice Kemp and sophomore guard Paris Roberts-Campbell combined for 51 points to lead six East Carolina players in double figures in a 91-85 Conference USA triumph over UAB Wednesday night in Birmingham.

Armstrong supplemented his career-high 18 points with 10 rebounds to help the Pirates right their ship after enduring a 77-56 thrashing at Marshall on Saturday.

Kemp scored 17 points to keep pace with his team-leading average of 17.8, and Roberts-Campbell nailed four 3-pointers and had a season-high 16 points.

ECU senior point guard Miguel Paul recorded 12 points and dished out a school-record 14 assists while committing only two turnovers.

Junior guard Akeem Richmond fired in four threes for 12 points and junior forward Robert Sampson added 10 points and blocked three shots for the Pirates.

Junior forward Rod Rucker had 20 points and 12 rebounds, junior forward Jordan Swing scored 16, junior guard Quincy Taylor added 14 and senior guard Terence Jones contributed 11 for the Blazers.

The Pirates led at the half 41-38 and picked up the pace in the second frame to surpass 90 points for the fourth time this season.

The action was competitive from start to finish with ECU hanging onto a slim lead during most of the contest. There were two lead changes and a tie in the final period before the Pirates spurted ahead by 11 with 2:19 remaining.

ECU converted 17-of-23 free throws, shot 55 percent from the field and made 56 percent of its three-point tries in securing the program's 1,000th all-time victory.

The Pirates improved to 12-6 overall, 3-2 in the league, while UAB fell to 8-11, 0-4. The loss was the Blazers' fifth straight.

The outcome marked only the second road win of the season for ECU, its first against a C-USA foe. The Pirates went to Atlanta on Nov. 26 and defeated Georgia State 62-53.

ECU begins a two-game home stand on Saturday with a 7 p.m. conference matchup against Texas-El Paso (TV: WITN Channel 7.) The Miners (10-7, 3-1) will be coming off a week-long layoff after a 63-54 league victory over Southern Methodist last Saturday.

PAGE UPDATED 01/24/13 05:03 AM.

Copyright © Bonesville.net. All rights rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any fashion. Information from Bonesville staff members, East Carolina University, Conference USA and other sources was used in composing and/or compiling the articles and data on this site. This site is editorially independent and is not affiliated with East Carolina University or Conference USA. View Bonesville.net's privacy policy. For advertising or other information, e-mail editor@bonesville.net.