Pirates travel to Campbell for first road test

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

After collecting an easy 101-45 victory in its season opener with NAIA foe Milligan on Friday, East Carolina will travel to in-state foe Campbell on Monday night for its first game against Division 1 competition.

The large margin of victory against the Buffaloes allowed Jeff Lebo to clear his bench and experiment with various combinations. Everyone with the exception of freshman walk-on Francis Edosomwan played at least 11 minutes in the contest and no one logged more than 24 minutes.

East Carolina (1-0) holds a 37-18 advantage in the all-time series with the Camels. The Pirates captured a 76-63 victory in Greenville last season, but they did suffer a 74-68 setback in their last visit to Pope Convocation Center-Gore Arena during the 2009-10 campaign.

Corvonn Gaines and Erin Straughn scored in double figures for ECU in that contest. Gaines finished with 11 points, six steals and five assists while Straughn totaled 12 points and six rebounds.

Eric Griffin had 15 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots for Campbell.

Against Milligan, Pirate newcomers produced 76 of the team’s 101 points. Six players scored in double figures. Missouri transfer Miguel Paul was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and poured in 19 points in just 17 minutes. The new ECU floor general also had eight assists and four steals.

Maurice Kemp and Austin Steed came off the bench to register double-doubles in their debuts in the purple and gold. The versatile 6’8” Kemp had 15 points and 11 boards. Steed recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Lebo had expressed his concern about the team’s perimeter shooting during the preseason following the losses of Jontae Sherrod and Jamar Abrams—the team’s top two long distance options from a season ago. However, the ECU backcourt rose to the challenge as it converted a stellar 13-of-21 attempts from beyond the arc. Freshman Paris Roberts-Campbell was 4-of-6 while junior college transfer Shamarr Bowden went 3-of-3.

Campbell (1-0) posted an 82-68 victory over Houston Baptist in its opener on Friday. The Camels, who are led by ninth-year head coach Robbie Laing, opened a 41-28 halftime lead, but were forced to knock down free throws late to put the game away. HBU pulled within 71-65 with 1:41 remaining, but Campbell sunk 11 of 12 free throws to decide the issue.

Freshman guard Trey Freeman was 7-of-12 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe to finish with a game-high 22 points in his Camel debut.

Senior forward Eric Griffin was a rebound away from a double double. The versatile 6’8” veteran was 8-of-9 and knocked down two trifectas. He finished with 21 points. Darren White, a 6’4” junior guard, also scored in double figures with 11. Sophomore Marvelle Harris, who stands 6’6”, pulled down a team-high 11 boards while fellow sophomore Rico Ferguson had a club-high six assists.

Campbell shot 60.9 percent compared to just 35.6 for Houston Baptist. However, 22 Camel turnovers led to 13 less shot attempts. CU shot just six three-pointers in the game.