GREENVILLE — East Carolina coach Bill Herrion says his team is driven by
visions of March Madness.
The Pirates may have taken another step toward fulfilling that dream with
a 76-60 victory over Virginia Tech Monday night.
Propelled by a smothering second half defensive effort and hot shooting
from the wing, East Carolina overcame a 13-point deficit with 16:38
remaining to rout the Hokies and remain undefeated.
With the win, the Pirates moved to 6-0, a feat that hasn't been achieved
in almost half a century.
"They really had us confused in the first half," Herrion said. "We
didn't handle the zone really well. They played an extended 1-3-1. We
worked on it yesterday but we don't see it that often. We just weren't in
sync offensively."
The rhythm was vigorously restored in the second half.
Center Moussa Badiane's thunderous slam at the 15:26 mark trimmed the
once-hefty deficit to single digits at nine, setting in motion a stretch run
in which East Carolina played in perfect unison. From there, the Pirates
outscored the Hokies 37-12, much to the delight of the Pirates faithful.
Belton Rivers scored 18 points while Derrick
Wiley added 17 as ECU matched its 1954 start and moved within a
game of equaling its 7-0 leap out of the gates in 1953, the best opening run in
school history.
East Carolina trailed 36-29 at halftime, but shot
62 percent in the second half to beat the Hokies (4-4), the Pirates' 11th
straight non-conference win. The Pirates also hit 13 of 17 free throws in
the second half compared to a 3-for-5 effort for Virginia Tech.
The Hokies shot 36 percent in the second half and finished with 20
turnovers.
Badiane, who had 13 points and six rebounds, blocked three shots to
become the school's career leader with 105, and senior point guard Travis
Holcomb-Faye dished out seven assists to pad his all-time career mark in
that category.
Carlos Dixon had 20 points to lead Virginia Tech, while Bryant Matthews
had 17.
Rebounds: Virginia Tech 34 *Matthews, Thompkins 6); East Carolina 28
(Bing 7).
Assists: Virginia Tech 12 (Matthews
4); East Carolina 13 (Holcomb-Faye 7).
Total fouls: Virginia Tech 24, East Carolina 13.
A - 7,012.
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this report.
