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49ers fend off 2nd half
ECU charge
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| East Carolina's Mike Castro (35)
scores over Charlotte's defenders Saturday night in Halton
Arena. (Photo: Greg Vacek, Bonesville.net) |
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By The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — After
Charlotte built a solid lead, Eddie Basden was determined not to see it
disappear. But East Carolina, led by Mike Cook's 22 points, had other
ideas.
The 49ers built a 19-point
lead early in the second half, only to see the Pirates whittle it down
to eight with 4:26 left.
The 49ers' Chris Nance was
assessed a technical and ejected with 3:12 remaining for pushing Corey
Rouse in the face while both struggled for a loose ball under the
Pirates' basket.
Cook hit one of two free
throws to cut the Pirates' deficit to seven. That's when Basden gathered
his teammates under Charlotte's basket.
``I told them we needed to
regain our composure. They had made their run and now it was time for us
get a run back, and as you see, we made that happen,'' Basden said.
The 49ers went on to
outscore the Pirates 10-5 to close the game, including going five-of-six
from the free-throw line in a 72-60 victory Saturday in their Conference
USA opener.
Basden scored 18 points
and had eight rebounds. Curtis Withers had 15 points and 10 rebounds and
Mitchell Baldwin added 12 points for the 49ers.
The win was the seventh
consecutive one for the 49ers (10-2, 1-0), a streak that is Charlotte's
best since winning seven straight in the 2001-2002 season.
Cook's 22 points was tops
among the Pirates, who had no other player in double figures. Corey
Rouse added 12 rebounds to the ECU effort.
The Pirates (5-9, 0-2), who lost their second game in a row, had an
18-12 lead with 11:54 remaining in the first half, then Charlotte scored
six straight to tie the game and went on to build a 39-26 halftime lead.
``We had chances to put
them away, and we didn't and they kept fighting,'' said Charlotte coach
Bobby Lutz. ``Fortunately we rallied back and made some big plays.''
ECU's next game is
Wednesday when the Pirates tangle with another league foe, 23rd-ranked
Cincinnati, in Minges Coliseum's Williams Arena.
Tip off for the game is 7 p.m.
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BOX
SCORE CHARLOTTE 72,
EAST CAROLINA 60
Records: ECU 5-9, 0-2;
Charlotte 10-2, 1-0.
Halftime: Charlotte 39-26.
EAST CAROLINA
Name FG FT
Pts
Rouse 2-12
1-2 5
Cook 10-16
2-3 22
Badiane 4-8
0-3 8
McNeil 4-8
1-1 9
Hammonds 0-1
0-0 0
Kilgore 2-4
0-0 4
King 2-4
0-0 6
Hart 0-2
0-0 0
Castro 3-4
0-0 6
Totals 27-59
4-9 60
CHARLOTTE
Name FG FT
Pts
Withers 6-15
3-5 15
Basden 5-7
8-11 18
Iti
3-6 0-0 6
Plavich 2-9
1-3 7
Baldwin 4-6
3-4 12
Nance 3-6
0-0 6
Drayton 2-5
0-0 5
Goldwire 1-10
0-0 3
Sager 0-0
0-0 0
Totals 26-64 15-23
72
3-Point goals: East
Carolina 2-14 (King 2-4, Castro 0-1, Kilgore 0-1, Hammonds 0-1,
Rouse 0-1, Cook 0-2, McNeil 0-4); Charlotte 5-18 (Plavich 2-8,
Baldwin 1-2, Drayton 1-2, Goldwire 1-5, Basden 0-1).
Fouled out: None.
Rebounds: East Carolina 36
(Rouse 12); Charlotte 40 (Withers 10).
Assists: East Carolina 13
(McNeil 6); Charlotte 14 (Baldwin 4).
Total fouls: East Carolina
19, Charlotte 14.
Technical fouls: Nance.
Attendance: 7,175.
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02/23/07 10:56 AM
©2005
The Associated Press and Bonesville.net. All
rights rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bonesville.net contributed to this report.
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