Cincinnati holds off Pirates
By
Al Myatt
©2016 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Post-game Audio: Lebo, Williams, Barkley...
GREENVILLE — East Carolina
trimmed a 16-point Cincinnati lead to 56-54 with five minutes remaining
before absorbing a 65-56 American Athletic Conference loss from the
Bearcats before 4,841 in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday
afternoon.
It was a matchup of ebbs and flows
for the Pirates, who fell behind 13-6 before rallying for a 17-15 lead
on a layup by freshman Kentrell Barkley with 9:52 left in the first
half.
The Bearcats (21-8, 11-5 AAC) spurted
again to go ahead 37-25 at the half.
"Our kids battled," said ECU coach
Jeff Lebo. "We had them where we wanted them with four minutes left. ...
Give them credit. That program has a history of being good and they're
good again this year."
A 3-pointer by Jacob Evans put
Cincinnati on top 61-54 with 3:15 remaining.
Troy Caupain led the Bearcats with 27
points on nine of 14 field goal shooting. He was 4-for-7 on threes.
"He's underrated," Lebo said of
Caupain. "He's like Nic Moore (Southern Methodist). He gives his team
what they need and today it was scoring."
Evans had 18 points for Cincinnati.
Octavius Ellis provided 10 points and 14 rebounds as the Bearcats led
38-31 on the boards.
Five players performed all but 16
minutes for the Pirates as Lebo went with a smaller lineup that has been
ECU's most productive offensively.
Senior point guard Prince Williams
had 18 points for ECU (11-18, 3-13). Barkley provided 14 points, 13
rebounds and six assists without a turnover in 40 minutes.
"He was terrific," Lebo said of
Barkley. "He scored for us. He rebounded for us and he made plays for
us. ... He's exceeded expectations to the point we can't take him out of
the game."
B.J. Tyson and Caleb White had 11
points each.
Barkley and White each hit a pair of
3-pointers in a 17-4 run that cut Cincinnati's lead to 56-54 on a drive
by Williams with 5:33 to go.
The Pirates essentially had one
practice day to prepare with a travel day following
a 79-73 win at Tulane on
Wednesday night. The Bearcats had not played since a 65-60 win at home
over Connecticut on Feb. 20.
ECU plays at South Florida (7-22,
4-12) at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
PAGE UPDATED
02/28/16 01:33 AM.
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