Pirates cruise in hoops opener

By Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

Lebo, Nzege & Guilmette post-game audio...

GREENVILLE — East Carolina rolled past North Carolina Wesleyan 99-81 to open the 2014-15 basketball season at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum on Friday night.

The Pirates (1-0) won their first game of the season for the 15th consecutive time.

Freshman B.J. Tyson had 22 points to lead ECU. Sophomore transfer Michel-Ofik Nzege had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Adding 14 points each against the Division III Bishops were Marshall Guilmette, Terry Whisnant and Caleb White.

The visitors were paced by 25 points from Eric Dortch-Jones.

Nzege had 10 points during a 31-14 run that pushed ECU's lead to 44-23 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half.

The Pirates led 48-27 at the break.

Wesleyan had a 31-14 run in the second half but the Bishops' momentum was curtailed by three technical fouls in a seven-second span.

After the technical spree, ECU went on a 29-9 run.

The teams shot 76 free throws between them as the officials took control of the contest after the cluster of technicals.

The Pirates converted 36 of 46 at the line while Wesleyan dropped 20 of 30.

ECU takes on UNC-Asheville at 2 p.m. Sunday at home.

PAGE UPDATED 11/15/14 04:36 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any fashion.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.