|
Charlotte slams brakes on Pirates'
momentum
From staff and wire reports
Box Score
|
Take that, Pirates!
 |
Charlotte's Demon Brown yells
after hitting
the third of three rapid 3-pointers during the
first half to spur the 49ers to the beginnings
of a Saturday night rout of Conference USA
and in-state rival East Carolina. |
|
(AP Photo by
Rusty Burroughs) |
|
CHARLOTTE — East Carolina's budding swagger was turned
into a stumbling shuffle Saturday night as cross-state rival Charlotte
brought the Pirates crashing back to the real world with a merciless
83-62 whipping.
The 49ers fired in the game's first 14 points and
maintained complete control from beginning to end to snap a four-game
losing streak and dampen the potential national implications of ECU's
pending Thursday showdown at home with 19th-ranked Louisville.
ECU came into the game tied for first place in
Conference USA and on a roll of sorts since Christmas. The Pirates
shocked then 13th-ranked Marquette 73-70 on December 30 and pummeled
Division II Pembroke 93-47 on January 2.
Demon Brown scored 21 points to pace Charlotte. Brown
made five 3-pointers, including three in a row to push the 49ers (6-7,
1-1 C-USA) to a big early lead that would grow much bigger.
Butter Johnson and Curtis Nash scored 15 each for
Charlotte and Curtis Withers added 14.
The loss was a a major setback for East Carolina (10-3,
1-1).
The Pirates came into the game off to their best start
since they opened the 1955 season 10-2, and they were harboring hopes
they could establish credentials as one of the best teams in the league
in just their second season of membership.
Instead, they played lethargically for long stretches,
dropping to 0-9 in C-USA road games since the beginning of last season
and losing their fourth-straight game against Charlotte.
Coming off an eight-day layoff, the Pirates were sloppy
at the start of the game — and it cost them.
Derrick Wiley committed a pair of turnovers and
Charlotte converted with a layup by Tory Reed and the first of Brown's
three straight 3's. Brown quickly nailed two more from behind the arc
after a pair of East Carolina misses to give Charlotte an 11-0 lead with
17:53 to play.
The Pirates didn't score their first basket until senior
guard Travis Holcomb-Faye, back after missing five games for academic
reasons, scored on a layup to cut Charlotte's lead to 14-2 with 16:40 to
play.
East Carolina could never dig itself out the hole,
shooting 45 percent for the game and hitting just four of 13
three-pointers. The Pirates finished with 16 turnovers and failed to
notch a single steal.
Holcomb-Faye led East Carolina with 15 points, but also
had six turnovers. Wiley finished with 14 points, five turnover and no
assists. East Carolina's backcourt accounted for 14 turnovers and just
three assists.
Moussa Badiane, who got into early foul trouble, blocked
three shots and scored 12 points for East Carolina and Belton Rivers
added 10.
|
BOX
SCORE
Charlotte (6-7, 1-1
C-USA) 83, East Carolina
(10-3, 1-1) 62
East Carolina (62)
Player FG
FT PTS
Bing 0-1
0-0 0
Mikulas 2-6
5-7 9
Badiane 5-7
2-3 12
Rivers 4-13
0-0 10
Wiley 6-11
1-2 14
Mackay 0-2
0-0 0
Rouse 1-3
0-3 2
Holcomb-Faye 6-10 2-2
15
Totals 24-53
10-17 62
Charlotte (83)
Player FG
FT PTS
Withers 6-14
2-2 14
Basden 1-2
0-0 5
Reed 3-7
0-0 6
Nash
6-11 0-0 15
Brown 6-16
4-4 21
Johnson 5-9
4-6 15
Burge 0-1
0-0 0
Grier 1-3
3-7 5
Baldwin 2-4
0-0 5
Howard 0-0
0-0 0
Best 0-0
0-0 0
Totals 30-67
13-19 83
Halftime: Charlotte 49, East
Carolina 23.
3-point goals: East Carolina
4-13 (Bing 0-1, Rivers 2-7, Wiley 1-2, Mackay 0-1, Holcomb-Faye
1-2); Charlotte 10-23 (Withers 0-1, Nash 3-6, Brown 5-13, Johnson
1-1, Baldwin 1-2).
Rebounds: East Carolina 36
(Mikulas 8); Charlotte 38 (Basden 9).
Assists: East Carolina 10
(Mackay 5); Charlotte 19 (Basden, Nash 5).
Total fouls: East Carolina 18;
Charlotte 19.
Fouled out: Johnson.
Technical fouls: None.
Attendance: 8,136. |
02/23/2007 10:56 AM
Copyright 2002
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bonesville.net contributed to this report.
|
