ECU in driver's seat with
Rider
By
Al Myatt
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Post-game audio: ECU coach Jeff
Lebo...
Post-game audio: ECU players
Ty Armstrong & Maurice Kemp...
GREENVILLE — It took 50
years for East Carolina to win its first postseason basketball game on
the Division I level. It only took four days for the Pirates to win
their second.
ECU climbed in the driver's seat early
and appropriately relegated Rider to passenger status as the Pirates
took a 75-54 win over the Broncs in the second-round of the
CollegeInsider.com Tournament Saturday evening in Williams Arena at
Minges Coliseum.
The triumph marked ECU's first 20-win
season since the 1953-54 team, which competed in the NAIA, went 23-2. It
was the first time ECU had reached the magic number on the Division I
level.
Public address announcer Jeff Diamond
informed a crowd of 3,886 that the Pirates would host the winner between
Kent State and Loyola of Maryland on Tuesday night in the CIT
quarterfinals.
ECU (20-12) started fast, withstood a
run by the Broncs and won going away.
The Pirates limited Rider to 27.1
percent field goal shooting for the game. ECU outrebounded the Broncs,
47-38.
It was a contrast to the modus operandi
in
a 66-65 squeaker against Savannah State
in which the Pirates won a race to the buzzer after trailing by 15
points twice in the second half.
Story
continues after the following picture.
![](../../../../images/Bonesville/Hoops/Galleries/Games/2012-13/032313-02_paris-roberts-campbell-22_ty-armstrong-5_defend-jonathan-thompson_ecu-held-rider-to-27-1-pct_500x332.JPG)
Paris Roberts-Campbell (22) and Ty
Armstrong (5) defend Rider guard
Jonathan Thompson. ECU held the
Broncs to 27.1 percent shooting.
[W.A. Myatt photo]
Coach Jeff Lebo, who has orchestrated
ECU's unprecedented hoops prosperity with a rotation shortened by the
loss of small forward Erin Straughn and point guard Corvonn Gaines,
found some new contributors from the cast that produced Tuesday night's
historic win.
Ty Armstrong, who watched much of the
first postseason victory earlier in the week as Lebo went to a smaller
lineup, provided 20 points from close range in 24 minutes.
"After I get a couple of buckets, my
confidence feels like it shoots up," Armstrong said. " ... I really had
nowhere to go but up."
Armstrong had three points and two
rebounds in 12 minutes in the first round of the CIT but credited his
teammates' encouragement and hard work in practice with bouncing back.
"Been waiting for that," said Lebo of
Armstrong's effort.
Lebo turned to Prince Williams after
point guard Miguel Paul picked up his fourth foul. Williams, a 6-foot-4
freshman, responded with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists
in 13 second-half minutes.
"Prince came in and really led us to
victory," Lebo said.
One of his feeds went to Maurice Kemp
for a dunk with 9:36 to go. Kemp appeared to take off from the environs
of Pactolus. Kemp had 20 points, 15 rebounds, blocked three shots and
made three steals.
Williams also gave ECU a different
dimension with his size on the defensive end.
It was Kemp's sixth straight effort
with 20 or more points. The only other Pirate to perform that feat was
Blue Edwards, who went on to become an established player in the NBA for
the Utah Jazz.
Kemp also exceeded 600 points for the
season, which only Edwards and Oliver Mack, who went on to play for the
Los Angeles Lakers, had done previously at ECU.
"Kemp was terrific," Lebo said. "An
energy play with his dunk."
Robert Sampson had nine points, nine
rebounds, two blocks and three steals despite foul issues. Akeem
Richmond had eight points and three assists. Paul had five points and
eight assists. Paris Roberts-Campbell had five points.
Lebo gave 6-foot-10 freshman Yasin Kolo
three first-half minutes. Michael Zangari, Shamarr Bowden, Francis
Edosomwan and Peyton Robbins played briefly. An injury kept Marshall
Guilmette out of action.
Rider (19-15) was road-tested, coming
into the game with an 8-8 mark in away games. The Broncs rallied after
ECU's first onslaught put the visitors in a pair of 14-point holes in
the first half. Rider trimmed the margin to 35-29 at the half and closed
within a point at 37-36 before the Pirates regrouped for a decisive
finish.
Lebo had made a plea for fan support
and Pirate Nation responded. After 2,053 showed up on Tuesday night, the
crowd nearly doubled for the second round. Those figures are entirely
from gate sales and do not include the approximately 2,500-season ticket
base of the regular season.
"Just hearing the roars and the chants
and just the love from everybody, it's a beautiful place to play,"
Armstrong said.
He added that every fan Saturday needed
to bring five friends to the next game.
"I've said it all year," Kemp said. "I
think we've got the best fans in the nation. ... They have no idea now
much we appreciate them. We feed off their energy."
Lebo had to feel fulfilled that the
fans sensed the urgency of his request on ecupirates.com.
"Our crowd was unbelievable tonight,"
said the Pirates coach. "I thought it was a factor in the second half,
no doubt about it."
Story
continues after the following picture.
![](../../../../images/Bonesville/Hoops/Galleries/Games/2012-13/032313-03_jeff-lebo-celebrates-a-2nd-round-cit-victory-with-the-minges-faithful_500x332.JPG)
Jeff Lebo celebrates a second round
CIT victory with the Minges faithful.
[W.A. Myatt photo]
It's pretty amazing that the Pirates'
season will last longer than those of N.C. State and Conference USA
champion Memphis, both of which have been knocked out of the NCAA
Tournament.
Sure, that's an apple and oranges
comparison. The NCAA Tournament is a higher level of competition and
teams don't get home court advantages.
But teams with impressive resumes still
show up in the CIT and the fact that's it's a cut below other postseason
events really doesn't matter. ECU and its fans have embraced the
challenge. The administration has won bids to host and the Pirates have
some momentum.
For a program with ECU's lack of
tradition, it's a welcomed opportunity to experience March madness
firsthand.
CollegeInsider.com Tournament |
Quarterfinal Round |
East Carolina 75, Rider 54 |
--------------------- |
Date: Saturday,
Mar. 23, 2013
Facility: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Attendance: 3,886
Records: ECU 20-12; RU 19-15
|
--------------------- |
SCORE BY PERIODS |
1 |
2 |
FINAL |
Rider |
29 |
25 |
54 |
East Carolina |
35 |
40 |
75 |
Send an e-mail message to Al Myatt.
PAGE UPDATED
03/24/13 02:04 AM.
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