Miners too much inside for Pirates, pull away for 70-56 win

UTEP outscores ECU, 40-12, in the paint

"Live by the sword, die by the sword".

The three-point shot can be a great equalizer and it was for East Carolina for the first 30-plus minutes of Wednesday night's game with UTEP at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso.

However, the Pirates eventually went cold from beyond the arc and fell flat on the sword that had kept them alive, as Tim Floyd and his Miners continued to pound the ball inside to pull away for a 70-56 league victory.

ECU (9-8, 0-4), which suffered its fourth straight defeat, did earn its first lead of the conference season early when Shamarr Bowden hit his only basket of the night--a three-pointer to give his team a 7-6 advantage.

Meanwhile, the Miners (10-9, 3-2) got ten of their first 14 points from Brian Bohannon and built an early six-point lead when Gabe McCulley sank two free throws to make it 19-13 with just over 12 minutes to play in the opening half.

Maurice Kemp knocked down a pair of three-pointers to highlight an 11-6 Pirate spurt that squared the game at 24-24 with 8:31 remaining.

UTEP outscored ECU, 8-0, over the next five-plus minutes to take its largest lead of the half at 32-24 before the Pirates closed to within 36-32 at intermission.

Jeff Lebo and his club had to feel fortunate to be down just four given that the Miners had managed to shoot 71.4 percent (15-of-21) in the first half. The Pirates' 6-of-13 performance from deep and only committing two turnovers helped make up for some of their defensive shortcomings.

East Carolina's strong perimeter shooting continued after the break and Paris Roberts-Campbell propelled the Pirates into a 45-43 lead with 12:26 to play.

Trailing 52-50 with 8:25 remaining following a Miguel Paul three, ECU quickly saw its chances of winning go by the wayside. UTEP used a 14-2 run over the next nearly six minutes to seize a commanding 66-52 advantage--which would end up being the margin of victory.

After starting 10-of-21 from three-point range, the Pirates missed their last eight attempts.

UTEP, which shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the floor, outrebounded ECU, 39-19, and held a lopsided, 40-12, advantage on points in the paint.

The Miners were a strong 18-of-21 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Pirates didn't attempt a free throw for over the first 38 minutes of action.

Brian Bohannon led UTEP with his double double effort of 17 points and 14 rebounds. Gabe McCulley finished with 16 points and seven boards. Washburn and Perez tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively, to give the Miners four players in double figures.

Miguel Paul and Maurice Kemp scored 14 each to pace the Pirates. Paul was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc while Kemp scored just two of his points after halftime. Darrius Morrow had 12 points and seven rebounds for ECU.

East Carolina will continue its two-game road swing on Saturday when it takes on Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion. Tip-off with the Cougars is scheduled for 8 p.m.