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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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The weather for East
Carolina's Senior
Day looks excellent
as the Pirates host
Cincinnati at noon
today. Conditions at
kickoff include 65
degrees, mostly
sunny skies, a zero
chance of
precipitation, 68
percent humidity and
winds west-northwest
at two miles per
hour. The forecast
is calling for
slight warning
during the American
Athletic Conference
contest to 69
degrees, clearing to
sunny skies and a
drop in humidity to
59 percent. Winds
are expected to
remain constant at
west-northwest and
two miles per hour
during the game.
(Filed by Al Myatt) |
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates leave Vegas as winners |
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LAS VEGAS �
East Carolina snapped a three-game
losing streak as B.J. Tyson scored
22 points in a 93-73 win over
Stetson in the Pirates' final game
of the Continental Tire Las Vegas
Invitational on Friday.
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More... |
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Next: ECU vs.
Florida Atlantic
Tuesday, 7 pm | TV:
ASN/ESPN3 |
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BASKETBALL |
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Little Rock inches past ECU |
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LAS VEGAS �
Arkansas-Little Rock found enough
offense in the second half to top
East Carolina 54-46 in a Las Vegas
Invitational defensive battle at
Orleans Arena on Thursday. The
Pirates led 23-15 at the half.
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More... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates playing for seniors,
bowl bid |
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 East
Carolina and Cincinnati approach the
regular season finale with similar
records, but heading in different
directions. While the Pirates have
had their disappointments, this
Bearcat team heads to Greenville
this week under .500 in league play
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More from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: Ruff Weekly
Presser |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill met with
reporters on Monday at his weekly
press conference (audio courtesy of
Pirate Radio 1250; file photo):
Select audio
clip... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates fall to Aztecs |
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SAN
DIEGO � Host San Diego State jumped
out to a 16-0 lead and finished with
a 79-54 win over East Carolina on
Monday night. The Aztecs (3-2) were
coming off a 49-43 loss to
Arkansas-Little Rock, ECU's opponent
on Thanksgiving at 2 p.m. in Las
Vegas.
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Infographic: Pirates Right the Ship |
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44 |
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7 |
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 East
Carolina snapped its three-game
losing streak and three-game skid in
Thursday night games as the Pirates
turned the tables on Central
Florida. ECU snapped its four-game
streak of not scoring an offensive
TD in the first quarter when Brandon
Bishop caught a 19-yard TD pass from
Blake Kemp. Kemp made his seventh
start of the season and made the
most of the opportunity ...
Details and
data from Greg Vacek... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates compete at Cal |
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BERKELEY, CA � California held off a
determined upset bid by East
Carolina for a 70-62 win at Haas
Pavilion on Friday night. The
Pirates (2-1) were within 64-61
after Prince Williams made a pair of
free throws with 2:14 to go.
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More
from Al Myatt... |
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Pirates turn tables on UCF |
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ORLANDO � The last time East
Carolina played at Bright House
Networks Stadium in a Conference
USA contest in 2012, the Pirates
took a 14-0 lead before Central
Florida rallied for a 40-20 win.
A 99-yard kickoff return for a
touchdown by Quincy McDuffie
sparked the UCF rally three
years ago. ...
Story &
pictures from Al Myatt... |
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Audio: Ruff post-game |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
after the Pirates' win
over Central Florida
(recorded by Al Myatt;
file photo):
Select audio clip... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
�2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Today's
game between East Carolina and visiting Cincinnati should be an exciting
one between two high-powered offenses. The Pirate offense has been
underwhelming most of the year because of key injuries. The Bearcat
offense has been good, but not always good enough to overcome
deficiencies on defense.
ECU
won't have it easy today, but the Pirates can win
game if they follow this script:
SCORE
EARLY AND OFTEN
The ECU
offense finally
got back on track a week ago
against 0-10 Central Florida. Behind the play of quarterback Blake Kemp,
the Pirates put up 44 points in three quarters and the reserves came in
to finish off the game. Running back Chris Hairston rushed for over 100
yards and 12 different receivers caught passes. This offense had been
struggling to find its way for weeks and had lost three straight games
because of it.
Today's contest will feature a Cincinnati offense that has scored in
big numbers all season, averaging more than 37 points per game. Even
in their blowout loss to South Florida a week ago, the Bearcats
managed to score 27 points. Cincinnati hasn't scored less than 24
points this year.
The
Pirates will need to come out with the same mindset as last week,
get on the scoreboard early and mix up the run and the pass. It will
be important to get touchdowns instead of field goals.
HOLD THE
'CATS TO FIELD GOALS
On the
flip side, the Pirates need to play even better defensively than they
have over the last few weeks. With Cincy's high-octane, quick-strike
offense, the ECU defense will need to be solid on first and second downs
and force the Bearcats into third and longs. The Bearcats are converting
49 percentof their third downs, good enough for 7th in the nation.
Both
quarterbacks, Gunner Kiel and Hayden Moore, are averaging more than
200 yards passing per game, and their three top running backs � Tion
Green, Mike Boone and Hosey Williams � are combining for 188 yards
rushing per game. Shaq Washington is the top receiving threat with
30 more catches than his closest teammate (73 receptions for 847
yards).
EMPLOY
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
It's
Senior Day for the Pirates and they will have 18 seniors take the field.
I know from experience that your last time in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is a
special time. On defense, big names like Zeek Bigger, Montese Overton
and Terrell Stanley will line up on Bagwell Field for the last time.
Offensively, Chris Hairston, Bryce Williams and three of the five
starters on the offensive line will have their final outings on the turf
they call home.
This
game will be about those seniors. Their leadership will be key in
how the game is played. The underclassmen will feed off of their
emotion and spirit. As an underclassman, you never want poor
execution on your part to contribute to a loss on Senior Day.
BOTTOM
LINE
This
game is big for East Carolina. A win today will get the Pirates to .500
on the season and secure a fourth straight bowl appearance. It has been
a rough campaign because of all the injuries and a victory today will
help heal some of those wounds. ECU has a good chance of winning if it
can score touchdowns early and often, hold the Bearcats to field goal
opportunities and get some good leadership from these seniors in their
last home game.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
Dig into Kevin Monroe's
archives.
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guests this week were J.H.
Rose football coach David Wojtecki,
D.H. Conley football coach Nate