Pirates fall to South Florida

By Al Myatt
©2016 Bonesville.net
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ORLANDO —  South Florida ended East Carolina's season with a 71-66 setback in the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament at the Amway Center on Thursday afternoon.

The Pirates were without junior forward Caleb White due to illness. White was the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 12.5 points.

ECU (12-20) tied the score at 42 on a jumper by B.J. Tyson, assisted by Lance Tejada, with 12:05 to play.

The Bulls (8-24) took the lead for good at 44-42 with 11:04 remaining on a layup by 6-feet, 11-inch Jaleel Cousins.

South Florida had a 9-1 run to lead 51-43 but the Pirates closed within 69-66 on two free throws by Prince Williams with 14 seconds left.

The Bulls answered with a pair from the line by Nehemias Morillo with 12 seconds to go for the final margin.

USF took its second win in three meetings with ECU this season and will meet top-seeded Temple (20-10) at noon today.

Tyson led the Pirates with 19 points but was 0-for-10 beyond the arc. Tejada provided some long range firepower as he went 5-for-9 on threes in scoring 17 points.

Mike Zangari had 14 points and 10 rebounds in his last game for ECU. Michel Nzege also had 10 rebounds as the bigger Bulls held a slight 43-41 advantage on the boards.

Senior Prince Williams had nine points and four assists. Tyson also had four assists.

Angel Nunez had 19 points and 11 rebounds for USF.

The Pirates minimized the scoring of Jahmal McMurray and Morillo in a 52-39 win at USF on March 2, limiting McMurray to five points and holding Morillo scoreless after the duo combined for 39 points in a 69-52 win in Greenville on Feb. 16.

Morillo had eight points and four assists in the third matchup with ECU. McMurray had nine points and three assists.

"We did some good things," said Pirates coach Jeff Lebo. "Our inability to make a perimeter shot with Caleb out was a factor. Even if he doesn't shoot the ball, he spaces the floor. Our starting backcourt was 1-of-16 from three and we still have a chance to win."

White led ECU in 3-pointers this season, hitting 70 of 184 for 38 percent.

Kentrell Barkley, who was sick and sat out of the last game with the Bulls, was not fully recovered. A 10.3-point per game scorer coming in, the AAC All-Rookie team selection managed just three points in 24 minutes.

"They hurt us obviously in the paint," Lebo said. "We were just overmatched in there against their size."

PAGE UPDATED 03/11/16 09:30 PM.

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