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News Nuggets, 03.30.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Night-time football on the menu for Pirate fans

When East Carolina's 2005 football campaign gets under way, Pirate fans may get a steady diet of night games both at home and on the road until mid-October.

The Pirates' schedule, which includes five games in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and six on the road, does not include an announced afternoon date until a 3:00 p.m. game on Oct . 15 game at Southern Methodist.

That could change change, depending upon the kickoff time of a Sept. 24 game at West Virginia. The start time for that game and for a Nov. 19 contest at Marshall were the only two not indicated in a Tuesday press release from the ECU athletic department.

The announcement listed the kickoff times for the other nine games on the Pirates' schedule and noted special-day designations for all five games in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

ECU's first afternoon home game is Oct. 29, when the Pirate host Central Florida at 2:00 p.m. for Homecoming.

The Pirates open their season with a 7:00 p.m. home game against Duke on Sept. 3 and conclude the regular season on Nov. 26 with a noon home game versus UAB.

2005 EAST CAROLINA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date    Notes  Opponent                 Time@   
Sep 03   #1    DUKE                     7:00 PM
Sep 10         Open Date
Sep 17         at Wake Forest           6:30 PM
Sep 24         at West Virginia         TBA
Oct 01   #2    SOUTHERN MISS*           6:00 PM
Oct 08   #3    RICE*                    6:00 PM
Oct 15         at  Southern Methodist*  3:00 PM
Oct 22         at  Memphis*             2:00 PM
Oct 29   #4    CENTRAL FLORIDA*         2:00 PM
Nov 05         Open Date
Nov 12         at  Tulsa*               3:00 PM
Nov 19         at  Marshall*            TBA
Nov 26   #5    UAB*                    12:00 PM

Notes:

#1 = Pirate Club Weekend
#2 = Military Appreciation Day, Band Day
#3 = Family, Hall of Fame/Letterwinners Weekend
#4 = Homecoming
#5 = Academic Success Day

@ = Game times are subject to change to meet possible television scheduling needs.

Home games in ALL CAPS; asterisk (*) denotes Conference USA game; TBA denotes game for which kickoff time will be announced at a later date.

Gamecocks top Terps to reach NIT title game

NEW YORK — South Carolina wasn't going to let Maryland pull this one out — no matter how many people were rooting for yet another comeback.

Carlos Powell scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and the Gamecocks thwarted the sloppy Terrapins 75-67 Tuesday night to reach the NIT championship game.

``We just tried to pick it up in the second half,'' Powell said. ``We knew they were going to go on a run so we just tried to stay a lot more aggressive than them.''

The Gamecocks (19-13) crashed the boards all night, pulling down 20 offensive rebounds — 44 overall.

Now they are in the NIT final for the second time in four seasons and will face Saint Joseph's for the title on Thursday night.

The Hawks (24-11) eliminated Memphis 70-58 in the opener of the doubleheader at Madison Square Garden.

That was good news for the Gamecocks, who lost the 2002 NIT championship game to Memphis and were knocked out of the NCAA tournament last year by the Tigers in the first round.

``Now that I don't have to play them, I can say that's who I was pulling for,'' South Carolina coach Dave Odom said. ``I wanted one more shot at them ... that's not true.

``Memphis is a great team with a great coach but Saint Joe's is the one that's been dealt to us and we'll have our hands full with them.''

The Terrapins had made coming-from-behind a common occurrence in the NIT. In the first round, they trailed Oral Roberts by 13 in first half and by 16 in the second round to Davidson.

Even in the quarterfinal victory over Texas Christian, Maryland rallied from two second-half deficits to advance. But those games were on its home floor. The partisan New York crowd tried to make the Terps feel at home, but it wasn't enough.

Hawks halt Memphis in NIT semifinal battle

NEW YORK — Pat Carroll and John Bryant have won 96 games in four seasons at Saint Joseph's. They want to leave school with a title.

``If we can end with a championship off this year, that would just top off the year,'' said Carroll, who scored 13 of his 24 points in the second half of Saint Joseph's 70-58 victory over Memphis on Tuesday night in the NIT semifinals.

The Hawks (24-11), who had to win four games just to get to Madison Square Garden, will face South Carolina for the tournament championship on Thursday.

The Gamecocks beat Maryland 75-67 in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader.

Saint Joseph's has won five straight Atlantic 10 regular-season titles, but Carroll and Bryant haven't enjoyed a tournament victory.

They got close last year, when Saint Joseph's advanced to the NCAA regional finals behind the star guard duo of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West. Those guys are now in the NBA, and the Hawks are in the NIT.

When they started the season 3-6, it looked as though the postseason would be totally out of reach. But Saint Joseph's is 21-5 since Jan. 1.

Carroll, the Atlantic 10 co-player of the year, was 6-of-9 from 3-point range — including 3-of-4 in the second half, when the Hawks pulled away behind 56.3-percent shooting.

``Even though people look at us as the small school — little Saint Joe's — we can play with anyone,'' said Carroll, whose night started with an airball.

Dwayne Jones added 13 points and 14 rebounds — eight offensive — for Saint Joseph's.

Memphis won three times at home but couldn't get past the Hawks, who are on the longest postseason run in school history.

Rodney Carney scored 21 points, 17 in the second half, and freshman guard Darius Washington Jr. added 14 for Memphis (22-16).

Washington finished 23-of-26 from the free throw line in the NIT. It was his two misses with no time remaining in the Conference USA championship game that sent Memphis to this tournament instead of the NCAA.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:22 PM