News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

11.12.05: Pirate basketball edging toward the limelight ... ECU in league's upper tier in football attendance ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.11.05: Tangle with Titans headlines ECU baseball slate ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.10.05: East Carolina football hire rates a "B" from BCA ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.09.05: Southern Miss escapes Huntington with OT win ... Updated C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.08.05: Holland beefs up rivalries with Wolfpack, Hokies ... ECU's Lee makes semifinal cut for Groza Award ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.07.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.06.05: Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.05.05: Litke: Politically correct or not, blacks run faster ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.04.05: Throat-slash gesture nets trouble for Callahan ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.03.05: Green Wave's road trip to Navy on the house ... Tulane coming home for C-USA hoops schedule ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.02.05: Fledgling FIU program lands series with Miami ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.01.05: Fledgling FIU program lands series with Miami ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.31.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.30.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.29.05: Wake football team loses four to suspension ...
C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.28.05: UTEP QB Palmer gaining his own slice of respect ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.27.05: Renewal of USM-NCSU series set for television ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.26.05: Pirate basketball set for lights, camera, action ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.25.05: Stokes' first squad opening act for Homecoming ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.24.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.23.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.22.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.21.05: ECU injury report a mixed bag for U of M game ... NCAA tinkers with experimental basketball rules ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.20.05: Storm-weary Tulane blown off course again ... Video company repents for N.C. State incident ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

The East Carolina basketball team's only exhibition game leading up to this week's season opener was not the one-sided affair some might have expected.

The Pirates, led by Corey Rouse's 20 points and 9 rebounds and Japhet McNeil's 12 assists, overcame an early 10-2 deficit and relied on a stingy defense to keep Division II North Carolina Central at bay, 67-60, Saturday night in Minges Coliseum's Williams Arena.

Rouse, a senior forward from Kinston, was 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 from the foul line. Courtney Captain, a junior guard who transferred to ECU from San Jacinto (TX) Junior College, added 13 points, 10 of which came during the second half.

“I thought we got off to a slow start, but I will give the guys a lot of credit, they continued to play hard,” stated first-year Pirate head coach Ricky Stokes. “Japhet (McNeil) did a great job of distributing the basketball, he had 12 assists and Corey played well, especially when we needed him in the second half. Overall I am pleased with the win.”

McNeil, a junior guard from Brooklyn, NY, scored 7 points, and a pair of newcomers — forward Tyrone Beale and guard Sam Hinnant — chipped in 8 points and 7 points, respectively.

Beale is a junior transfer from Allegany (MD) College, and Hinnant, a freshman from Charlotte, comes to ECU from Fork Union Military Academy.

The Pirates forced 21 N.C. Central turnovers in the game, in which 9 different East Carolina players logged at least 10 minutes of playing time.

The Eagles were paced by a game-high 24 points from forward Drew Johnson, a junior guard/forward from Raleigh.

The Pirates open the regular season Friday night with a 7 p.m. home game versus North Carolina A&T.

(Through games of Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005)

CONFERENCE USA STANDINGS

EAST DIVISION

TEAM                  C-USA ALL
Central Florida        6-1   7-3
Southern Miss          4-2   5-4
Marshall               3-3   4-5
Memphis                3-4   4-5
UAB                    2-4   4-5
East Carolina          2-4   3-6

WEST DIVISION

TEAM                  C-USA ALL
Texas-El Paso          5-1   8-1
Tulsa                  5-2   6-4
Houston                3-3   5-4
Southern Methodist     2-4   3-6
Rice                   1-5   1-8
Tulane                 1-6   2-7

SCORES

[C-USA teams in bold; ECU opponents in red.]

TUESDAY, NOV. 8

Southern Mississippi 27, Marshall 24 (OT)

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9

West Virginia 38, Cincinnati 0

SATURDAY, NOV. 12

   Rice 42, Tulane 24
   Tulsa 45, East Carolina 13
   Central Florida 27, UAB 21
   Tennessee 20, Memphis 16
   Texas-El Paso 45, Texas Southern 0
   Miami 47, Wake Forest 17

SCHEDULE

[C-USA teams in bold; ECU opponents in red.]

SUNDAY, NOV. 13

Houston 27, Southern Mississippi 24

SATURDAY, NOV. 19

   Central Florida at Rice 3 pm
   East Carolina at Marshall 4:30 pm
   Southern Methodist at Houston 6:00 pm
   UAB at Texas-El Paso 6 pm
   Tulsa at Tulane 7 pm
   Memphis at Southern Mississippi 8:30 pm
   Duke at North Carolina TBA

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.