Morrow, Kemp lead Pirates past Gardner Webb, 69-55

Pirates win third straight

Darrius Morrow and Maurice Kemp managed to record double-doubles to lead East Carolina to a 69-55 win over visiting Gardner Webb on Thursday night.

The Pirates (7-4), who have won three straight, started quickly as they knocked down nine of their first 11 shots.

However, ECU had trouble extending its lead, as the Bulldogs also shot well in the early going.

Following a three-point play by Morrow, the Pirates held a 14-6 advantage at the 15:26 mark.

GWU used five straight points by Donta Harper to spark an 11-4 spurt over the next three-plus minutes that pulled it within 18-17.

ECU pushed its lead back to five at 25-20 with just under ten minutes to play after getting consecutive hoops from Kemp, but the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to build a 27-25 advantage.

The Pirates limited GWU to just one basket over the last 6:53 and took a 31-29 lead into the locker room.

Kemp and Morrow each had 11 points and six boards in the first 20 minutes.

The Bulldogs' Max Landis opened the second half scoring with a three-pointer to give GWU a 32-31 advantage.

However, that's the last they would lead.

ECU used five straight free throws by Shamarr Bowden and Maurice Kemp to go up 43-36 with 12:16 to play.

The stubborn Bulldogs fought back to within one at 43-42 with 9:32 remaining, but the Pirates put them away with a 13-4 run. A three-pointer by Bowden gave ECU its first double-digit lead at 56-46 with just under five minutes to go.

Miguel Paul, who was one of four ECU players in double figures with ten points, converted all six of his free throws in the game's final minutes.

Morrow finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Kemp had 18 points and 13 boards. Bowden, who was 3-of-5 from long range, concluded his night with 13.

The Pirates, who scored 19 of their 38 second-half points from the charity stripe, have shot over 80 percent (40-of-49) from the free throw line the last two games after shooting less than 50 percent combined against UMASS and UNCG.

Tashan Newsome and Max Landis had 12 points each to lead GWU. Landis scored his points via four trifectas.

East Carolina continues to play solid defense, as it held yet another opponent to less than 60 points and 40 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs shot just 33.3 percent (18-of-54) on the night.

Jeff Lebo's club will return to action on Thursday, December 29 when it hosts North Carolina Central.