Pirates surge past USF

By Al Myatt
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GREENVILLE — East Carolina started the second half on an 11-0 run after building a 35-25 lead in the first 20 minutes and the Pirates went on to a 73-60 American Athletic Conference win over South Florida on Saturday.

ECU got 19 points each from Caleb White and B.J. Tyson in its fourth straight win at home. White dropped five shots from beyond the arc, a career high, and Tyson made 11 of 14 free throws.

The Pirates went 28 for 36 at the line, outscoring the Bulls (8-20, 2-13) by 16 points on foul shots.

Marshall Guilmette had 13 points and Terry Whisnant added 10 points as ECU improved to 12-15 overall and 5-9 in league play.

The Pirates evened the season series after falling 58-50 at Tampa on Jan. 3.

ECU overcame a 12-3 deficit at the outset with a 15-2 spree.

Guilmette put the Pirates ahead to stay with a 3-pointer that provided a 15-14 lead with 8:35 left in the first half. A layup and a free throw by Tyson produced a 30-20 ECU advantage with 3:08 remaining in the half and the Pirates maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the way.

ECU's defense generated 11 USF turnovers in the first half and the Pirates scored 20 points off those miscues.

"Although we didn't get off to a great start, in the last 12 minutes of the first half we were able to score a lot of points off turnovers," said ECU coach Jeff Lebo. "Our defense was pretty active in the first half and we did a nice job of extending the lead in the second half."

Tyson had six rebounds as ECU won the board battle, 30-27. Corey Allen Jr., a senior guard, paced the visitors with 28 points and eight rebounds.

Antonio Robinson had five assists for the Pirates. Michel-Ofik Nzege scored six points and Lance Tejada tallied four for ECU.

USF committed 10 fouls in the last three minutes and the Pirates made 13 of 19 at the line in that span to seal the outcome.

Allen led USF's attempts at a comeback by scoring 25 points in the second half. Troy Halston Jr. had 13 points for the Bulls.

ECU hosts Connecticut on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ESPNU). The Huskies topped the Pirates 65-52 in Storrs on Feb. 4 although ECU held a 34-27 lead at the half. UConn fell to 14-11 overall and 7-6 in the AAC with a 75-72 loss at Memphis on Thursday night. The Huskies host Tulane at 4 p.m. today.

PAGE UPDATED 02/22/15 03:04 AM.

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