NCAA BASKETBALL ::: East Carolina wins third straight [bk-122211]

Junior guards Corvonn Gaines and Miguel Paul combined for ten points during a 15-4 second half run that enabled East Carolina to shake off Gardner-Webb and capture a 69-55 victory Thursday night in Greenville.

East Carolina led 43-42 when Paul initiated the momentum grab with a pair of free throws at the 7:59 mark. Two 3-pointers by Gaines sandwiched around a dunk by senior forward Darrius Morrow followed and the Pirates (7-4) were off to the races.

By the time the flourish finished on a trey by junior guard Shamarr Bowden and a layup by Paul, East Carolina was in charge 58-46 with 4:19 left. In the closing minutes, ECU padded the margin to as much as 15 on two occasions and never allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs (6-8) to get closer than 10.

The lead changed hands four times and there were three ties before the late explosion changed the complexion of the game.

The Pirates got double-doubles from Morrow (18 points, 10 rebounds) and junior forward Maurice Kemp (13 points, 13 rebounds), while Bowden had 13 points and Paul added 10.

Junior guard Tashan Newsome and freshman guard Max Landis scored 10 points apiece for Gardner-Webb.

ECU seized big advantages in a couple of key aspects of the game. The Pirates outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs in the paint 28-14 and produced 15 points off turnovers while giving up only 3.

East Carolina led at the half 31-29 and played a see-saw contest with Gardner-Webb until the late run.

ECU will be idle through Christmas and return to action with a home game against North Carolina Central next Thursday at 7 p.m. The Eagles will go into the matchup with a 7-6 record coming off a 69-58 Thursday night win over Prairie View A&M.

BOX SCORE

EAST CAROLINA 69, GARDNER-WEBB 55

Date: Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011
Place: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, Greenville, NC
Attendance: 4,721

Records: ECU 7-4; GWU 6-8

SCORE BY PERIODS     1   2  FINAL
Gardner-Webb        29 26 -   55
East Carolina       31 38 -   69

GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN' BULLDOGS
# PLAYER                    FG   3PT    FT R PTS MIN
.........................    ..   ...    .. . ... ...
24 Hartley, Kevin...... f   2-5   2-4   0-2 5   6 23
54 Byron, Mike......... c   0-3   0-0   0-0 2   0 17
10 Landis, Max......... g   4-8   4-7   0-1 0 12 27
15 Buggs, Laron........ g   0-4   0-1   2-2 2   2 16
32 Newsome, Tashan..... g   4-9   0-2   4-5 4 12 21
00 Harper, Donta.........   2-4   0-0   1-1 2   5 19
02 Royster, Jay..........   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   0+
04 Strange, Tyler........   1-5   0-3   0-0 3   2 25
05 Johnson, Stefon.......   2-6   0-0   1-2 7   5 27
11 Dawson, Jason.........   2-8   1-5   2-2 1   7 18
31 Butler, Santoine......   1-2   0-0   2-2 2   4   5
33 Hensley, Corey........   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   2
TEAM.....................                    4
TOTALS................... 18-54 7-22 12-17 32 55 200
PERCENT.................. 33.3 31.8 70.6

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
# PLAYER                    FG   3PT    FT R PTS MIN
.........................    ..   ...    .. . ... ...
01 Morrow, Darrius..... f 8-14   0-0   3-5 10 19 35
02 Kemp, Maurice....... f 6-15   0-0   6-8 13 18 33
00 Paul, Miguel........ g   1-8   0-3   8-9 1 10 32
20 Bowden, Shamarr..... g   3-5   3-5   4-4 1 13 30
23 Straughn, Erin...... g   0-1   0-0   0-0 3   0 19
03 Torlak, Petar.........   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   2
10 Edosomwan, Francis....   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   1
11 Gaines, Corvonn.......   2-2   2-2   1-2 3   7 24
12 Sampson, Robert.......   1-2   0-1   0-0 3   2   6
22 CAMPBELL, Paris.......   0-2   0-2   0-0 2   0 12
25 Steed, Austin.........   0-0   0-0   0-0 0   0   5
35 Morales, Darius.......   0-0   0-0   0-0 1   0   1
TEAM.....................                    1
TOTALS................... 21-49 5-13 22-28 38 69 200
PERCENT.................. 42.9 38.5 78.6

Fouled out: Mike Byron, Stefon Johnson
Technical Fouls: None
Officials: Mark Schnur, Scott Smith, Nathan Quick