Pirates pull away from UCF

By Al Myatt
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

GREENVILLE — East Carolina used an active zone defense and a solid effort from sophomore forward Caleb White in a 67-49 American Athletic Conference win over Central Florida in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday evening.

White scored 21 points and controlled a career-high nine rebounds as the Pirates improved to 10-13 overall and 3-7 in the AAC.

Terry Whisnant was back after an injury to his torso on Wednesday night at Connecticut to add 11 points for ECU. Coming off the bench with 10 points each were Michael Zangari and freshman B.J. Tyson.

A 12-2 run helped the Pirates to a 31-22 lead at the half. An 8-0 flurry pushed ECU's lead to 54-38 after intermission.

A 3-pointer by White with 2:20 to go gave the Pirates a 20-point lead in their second straight home win.

"I thought it was a pretty solid game," said ECU coach Jeff Lebo. "I was worried about this game because of the emotions of the Cincinnati game on Sunday and the game at Connecticut. I thought we came out a little flat. [UCF] had a week off, and luckily they came out a little flat, too.

"I thought we got going in the last 10 minutes (of the first half). I thought our defense during the whole game was terrific. Their two best shooters didn't make a three in the game. (Our guys) were active in the zone and we got some turnovers. Eleven steals for us is a lot, and that triggered some fast break opportunities. We scored some in the paint this game, 44 points. I thought we took the ball hard to the rim. Caleb (White) was strong to the basket, and I thought Mike Zangari had his best game in a long time.

"I thought we got solid play from everyone. B.J. didn't really have a good first half with foul trouble, but Terry (Whisnant) made some key 3-point shots for us and Lance (Tejada) made a big play in the first half. We took care of the ball, with 16 assists and 10 turnovers. All around, a good team win for us."

Antonio Robinson had four points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals playing the top of ECU's zone. Paris Roberts-Campbell had four assists.

Staphon Blair led the Knights (9-13, 2-9) with 12 points. B.J. Taylor and Brandon Goodwin added 10 points each for UCF.

The Pirates host Memphis at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPNU). The Tigers won 70-58 at home over ECU on Jan. 28, scoring the last eight points of the game. A 61-60 home loss to Temple on Saturday dropped Memphis to 14-9 overall and 6-4 in the AAC.

PAGE UPDATED 02/08/15 01:34 AM.

Copyright © Bonesville.net. All rights rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any fashion. Information from Bonesville staff members, East Carolina University, Conference USA and other sources was used in composing and/or compiling the articles and data on this site. This site is editorially independent and is not affiliated with East Carolina University or Conference USA. View Bonesville.net's privacy policy. For advertising or other information, e-mail editor@bonesville.net.