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Almond takes joy out of
Pirates' night
HOUSTON — East Carolina
couldn't hold a first half lead and Morris Almond was a big reason why.
The junior guard from
Powder Springs, GA, maintained a hot scoring hand with 30 points as Rice
handed ECU its ninth straight road loss by a 62-54 margin on Wednesday
night.
The Pirates led 26-19
during the first half.
Almond also had 10
rebounds for his fourth double-double this season. The Pirates can take
some solace in that Almond has torched other teams as well. It marked
the fourth consecutive game for Conference USA's top scorer that he has
tallied at least 30 points.
He previously hit 30
against Memphis, 36 at Marshall, and 31 at Tulsa.
Almond is now averaging
22.0 points on the season and 27.3 in league play.
Rice (11-12, 5-5 C-USA)
was down 26-19 after a 14-2 ECU run, but the Owls scored the last five
points to end the half down only by two.
The Owls started the
second-half on a 10-2 run as Lorenzo Williams hit a 3-pointer, Almond
converted a three-point play, and J.R. Harrison added a basket. Almond
then scored again to give Rice a 34-30 lead.
ECU (7-16, 1-9) came back
to take a 46-44 lead on a three-pointer by Courtney Captain at 7:43.
With the score knotted at 50-50, Rice went on a 7-0 run to give the Owls
some breathing room. Rice then made 5-of-6 at the free throw line to
secure the win.
Harrison's double-double
included a game-high 12 rebounds and 14 points.
The Pirates were led by
Tyrone Beale's 15 points. Captain and Sam Hinnant each added 10.
The Owls limited Pirates
senior Corey Rouse to a subpar effort of six points and six rebounds.
Japhet McNeil and Jonathan Hart managed a total of just two points
between them in 33 minutes as they returned from a suspension that
caused them to miss a loss at UAB on Saturday.
BOX SCORE
RICE 62, EAST CAROLINA 54
Feb. 15, 2006, Houston, TX.
Officials: David Hall, Mike Thibodeaux, Bob Vetkoetter.
Technical Fouls: None.
Attendance: 1,764.
EAST CAROLINA 26 28
- 54
RICE
24 38 - 62
ECU (7-16, 1-9
Conference USA)
PLAYER MIN FG 3PT FT
R PTS
Beale 24
6-8 0-0 3-3 3 15
Rouse 36
3-6 0-1 0-4 6
6
Hinnant 30 3-12
2-8 2-2 3 10
Captain 30 2-8
2-7 4-5 3 10
Hammonds 17 1-5
0-4 0-0 0 2
McNeil 16 0-1
0-1 0-0 1 0
Gagnon 3
0-1 0-0 0-0 2
0
Ingram 12 0-4
0-4 1-2 1 1
King 15
3-5 2-4 0-0 2
8
Hart 17
1-1 0-0 0-1 2
2
Team
4
Totals 200 19-51 6-29 10-17
27 54
Percentages .373 .207
.588
RICE (11-12,
5-5
Conference USA)
PLAYER MIN FG 3PT FT
R PTS
Almond 39 9-18
1-3 11-12 10 30
Moore 25
0-2 0-0 2-4 5
2
Britton 16 0-1
0-0 0-0 2 0
Killings 9 0-0
0-0 0-0 3 0
Williams 30 2-5
1-2 2-4 1 7
Hagen 6
0-1 0-0 0-0 0
0
Packevicius 21 0-1 0-0
4-6 4 4
Foster 16 1-4
1-4 0-0 1 3
Pflieger 6 1-4
0-2 0-0 0 2
Harrison 32 6-13 0-1
2-2 12 14
Team
3
Totals 200 19-49 3-12 21-28
41 62
Percentages .388 .250
.750 |
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02/23/07 10:58 AM
©2006 Bonesville.net and
other Publishers. All rights rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Game accounts and
statistics may be compiled from various resources, including but not limited
to staff, ECU, opposing team and Conference USA reports.
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