BRIAN BAILEY'S TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS

From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
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By Brian Bailey
WNCT-TV 9 Sports Director

Road not getting any easier

Audio: Brian Bailey Show

The Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. Brian's guest this week was Carolina Panthers scout Robert Haines (left): Replay show...

(Photo: carolinacatchronicles.com)

View Pirate Radio 1250 Programming Lineup

 
 

BASKETBALL

Sizeable Knights take sizeable win

ORLANDO — Host Central Florida took an 89-69 American Athletic Conference win over East Carolina on Saturday, dropping the Pirates to 0-5 in league play. Caleb White led ECU (8-10) with a game-high 20 points and B.J. Tyson added 19. Kentrell Barkley and Prince Williams scored eight points each. ... More...

Next: Tulsa at ECU | Tuesday, 7 pm | TV: ESPNN

 

BASKETBALL

Lebo nudging Pirates along

Al MyattEast Carolina basketball coach Jeff Lebo didn't get a Powerball ticket for the drawing valued at $1.55 billion on Wednesday night. "No, I didn't," Lebo said. "I don't play that." Odds on an individual ticket matching all six numbers were reportedly one in almost 300 million ... More from Al Myatt...

 

BASKETBALL

Southern Methodist remains unbeaten

GREENVILLE — Tenth-ranked Southern Methodist remained unbeaten with a 79-55 win at East Carolina on Wednesday night. Five players scored in double figures for the Mustangs with Ben Moore leading the way with 17 points. ... More...

 

FOOTBALL RECRUITING

Aaron Ramseur carries on tradition

Few high schools in North Carolina have produced more standout major college linebackers than Crest High School in Shelby. One of the originators of the Crest linebacker legacy was Tim Ramseur, who as a senior in 1994 was a Shrine Bowl all-star pick and the state 4-A defensive player of the year. ... More from Sammy Batten...

Thumbnail: ECU's recruiting class of 2016...

 

BASKETBALL

Glimpses give hope

East Carolina’s first half at Temple on Saturday night showed just how good this basketball team can be. Unfortunately, the Pirates couldn’t put together two halves ... More from Brian Bailey...

MULTIMEDIA
Audio: The Brian Bailey Show
The Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. Brian's guest this week was ECU AD Jeff Compher (right): Replay show...
 

FOOTBALL

Coach Mo caps off staff

East Carolina football coach Scottie Montgomery put the finishing touch on his inaugural full-time staff on Monday with the hiring of Vanderbilt graduate assistant Ryan Anderson as inside linebackers coach. ... More from Al Myatt...

 

FOOTBALL

Coach Mo talks Clemson-Alabama

East Carolina football coach Scottie Montgomery is excited about the College Football Playoff championship between Alabama and Clemson tonight. ... More from Al Myatt...

 

BASKETBALL

Owls overtake ECU

PHILADELPHIA — Despite trailing by 11 points in the first half, Temple rallied for a 78-60 American Athletic Conference win over East Carolina before 4,524 fans at the Liacouras Center on Saturday night. Quenton DeCosey was five of eight behind the arc to lead the Owls (8-6, 3-1 AAC) with 24 points. ... More...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By Brian Bailey
©2016 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

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East Carolina's basketball season continued its downward spiral over the weekend with a blowout loss to Central Florida in Orlando.

The Pirates, so competitive in the Jan. 2 matchup between the teams in Greenville, had no answer for the Knights' inside game in an 89-69 defeat. It's the first UCF season sweep over ECU since 2012.

This one wasn't even close. The Knights bolted out to a 60-32 halftime lead behind the inside play of 7'6" Tacko Fall and big Justin McBride.

McBride looks like he could star for the Knights on the gridiron. Fall played over the rim, while McBride pushed and shoved his way through the Pirates all afternoon long.

Now ECU returns home, desperate for a win to try and turn things around. Tulsa comes to town riding a three-game winning streak, so this will be a battle of teams heading in polar opposite directions.

Add in that Tulsa beat the Pirates 55-43 two weeks ago and the challenge intensifies.

Pirate coach Jeff Lebo knew his team would struggle inside after his first trip through the American Athletic Conference last season. The goal was to address that going into this year, but injuries and other circumstances have taken a toll. Now the Pirates are relegated to a strategy of having to hit from the outside in order to find success.

Success has been hard to come by of late. ECU is off to an 0-5 start in league play. After Tulsa's visit tonight, the Pirates hit the road to take on Memphis.

This may be a case where the light at the end of the tunnel really is a train.

South Florida has an eight-game losing streak. Lucky for the Pirates, the Bulls dot the ECU schedule twice in the second half of the season.

Of course, that slate also includes a road trip to undefeated Southern Methodist. We saw first hand last week just how good the Mustangs are this year, despite the probationary status.

The Pirate basketball road continues to be a bumpy one.

If there is a silver lining, Coach Lebo has shown in his years at East Carolina that his teams are usually playing their best basketball late in the season, for tournament time.

There is still plenty of season to go. Lebo and company hope the turnaround begins tonight at Williams Arena.

Tulsa comes to town at 11-6. One of those wins came against ECU.

Two weeks ago the Pirates were just 2-16 from the three-point line in the loss to the Golden Hurricane. ECU got off to a slow start, missing its first five shots while committing six turnovers.

Look for a better start tonight.

With this schedule in the American Athletic Conference, wins will be hard to come by. The Pirates will need a supreme effort and could certainly use a nice crowd to utilize the team's home court advantage.

Williams Arena was absolutely hopping for the SMU game last week. That kind of atmosphere will pay dividends down the road.

Perhaps it starts tonight.

BB

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01/19/2016 02:06 AM
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