East Carolina downs Division II Chowan, 78-62

Three Pirates scored in double figures

Darrius Morrow and Miguel Paul scored 20 points each and helped sluggish East Carolina overcome a slow start to take down Division II Chowan, 78-62, on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum.

The Pirates (4-1), who shot nearly 60 percent in the first half, led just 43-37 at the break due to a dismal defensive effort that allowed the Hawks many lay-ups and high percentage looks that equated to Chowan shooting 57 percent from the floor before halftime.

“We didn’t start out very well. Defensively, the first half, we were horrendous. We gave up buckets after made baskets on our end. We just weren’t dialed in there like we were against Appy State,” explained second-year coach Jeff Lebo.

The Hawks, who were led by the strong efforts of Quinton McDuffie and Antonio Reddic, hung right with the Pirates for much of the contest, as the first half featured eight ties and six lead changes. McDuffie was a rebound shy of a double-double after finishing with 22 points and nine boards. Reddic tallied 15 points and dished out six assists, but didn’t score in the second half.

East Carolina trailed 35-31 with just over four minutes remaining, but a three-point play by Erin Straughn and three ball by Miguel Paul capped a 12-0 spurt to propel the Pirates ahead to stay.

The Pirates were able to gradually pull away in the second half, as they clamped down on the defensive end and limited Chowan to just 9-of-33 (27.3 percent) shooting.

Despite their shots not falling, the Hawks actually closed to within three on two occasions in the first six to seven minutes—the second when Quinton McDuffie knocked down a three to make it 51-48 with 13:12 left.

However, a three-pointer by Miguel Paul lifted the Pirates to their first double figures’ lead at 64-52 with just under seven minutes to play.

The lead grew to as many as 17 on a Corvonn Gaines’ lay-up with just under a minute remaining.

ECU finished over 50 percent from the floor, but was just 7-of-25 from three-point range. To shed more light on the Pirates’ poor perimeter effort, everyone except Miguel Paul combined to go 2-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Paul, who was 5-of-8 from deep, recorded his second 20-point game as a Pirate. He also had six rebounds and five assists, but did commit six turnovers.

Morrow scored 20 points for the second time in three games, as the undersized Hawks had no answer for 6’8” senior who went 8-of-10. The Pirates also received 17 points and five boards from Erin Straughn.

Maurice Kemp was a point away from the second double-double of his young ECU career after finishing with nine points and 12 rebounds.

East Carolina will return to action on Tuesday night when it travels to CAA foe Old Dominion for a 7 p.m. contest at the Constant Convention Center.