ECU continues five-game home stand against Campbell on Wednesday

Pirates are 2-0 for the first time since 2004-05 season

Following a couple of easy wins over Division II foes Coker and St. Andrews, East Carolina will play its first game versus Division I competition when it hosts in-state opponent Campbell at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum.

After defeating Coker, 71-56, in its season opener on Friday night—a contest which the Pirates led by as many as 29—ECU collected its second win of the young season on Sunday afternoon when it cruised by St. Andrews, 94-58.

The Pirates (2-0) had shown some good things against Coker, but they were unable to do them with the necessary consistency—which wasn’t surprising since it was the first game for a team with four new starters. Second-year head coach Mack McCarthy felt his team’s mental readiness was much better versus St. Andrews and his team’s performance reflected it. After committing 22 turnovers in its opener, ECU only turned it over nine times against the Knights. The Pirates shared the ball beautifully, as they had 26 assists on 36 field goals. They also shot the ball better from the floor and charity stripe.

Against Coker, the Pirates were unable to hold their lead when they substituted; however, they extended their margin when they made second half changes against St. Andrews. After leading by only four with five minutes to play in the first half, ECU went on a 39-13 run that spanned both halves and they built a 30-point cushion with 12 minutes remaining in the contest.

Talented Pirate freshmen Darrius Morrow and Chris Turner showed why they were such prized recruits. Morrow posted his first double double in the purple and gold, as he finished with 15 points and ten rebounds in 27 minutes of action. Turner had nine points and four rebounds.

Senior Sam Hinnant reached double figures for the second time. Hinnant, who had 14 points and five assists, is averaging 17.5 points through two games.

Fellow senior guard James Legan tied his career-high with 20 points. He was 6-of-8 from the floor—including 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

Morrow received some help in the post from sophomore Daquan Joyner. Joyner, who has improved dramatically since his freshman campaign, showcased his athleticism on a couple of alley-oop dunks and concluded the game with a career-high 13 points (6-of-7 from the floor) in 21 minutes. The Pirates needed the post production since Chad Wynn, who had a career best 15 points against Coker, only scored four points in 14 minutes.

Brock Young did a brilliant job of leading the team. The sophomore point guard tallied nine points, but also dished out seven assists and made four steals.

Wednesday night’s match-up will be the 37th time that East Carolina and Campbell have met on the hardwood. The Pirates hold a commanding 28-8 edge in the series and won the last meeting by a score of 93-54 on November 22, 2003 in Greenville.

Head coach Robbie Laing is in his sixth year of directing the Campbell program. While his 39-104 record through five seasons would make most wonder how he still has his job, he has built the program from five wins combined in his first two seasons to a 14-17 mark in his fourth year. The Camels, who return three starters from last season’s 10-20 team, opened their season by collecting a 79-64 win over Chowan in their new 4,000-seat arena on Saturday night. The coaches and media predicted them to finish seventh of 11 teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference’s preseason polls.

The Camels are led by 6’5”, 200-pound junior forward Jonathan Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who has been First-team All-Atlantic Sun in his first two years, averaged a double-double last year when he put up 20.9 points and pulled down 10.1 rebounds per game. He started this season with a bang by pouring in 30 points (10-of-16 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line) and grabbing seven boards against Chowan. It marked the 39 th consecutive time that Rodriguez had reached double figures, which tied the Campbell school record for the Division I era. Coach Laing considers Rodriguez to be a point forward, as he handles the ball well enough to create scoring opportunities for the Camels in fast break situations. It is evident that Campbell’s offense flows through him, as he took 89 more shots than anyone on the team last season while also ranking fourth with 75 assists. With his athleticism and ability to knock down the three-point shot, he can create mismatches for the opposition. Defensively, he led his team with 47 steals.

Point guard Junard Hartley and forward/center Kyle Vejraska are the other two returning starters. Hartley, who stands 6’3”, played 28.5 minutes as a freshman a season ago. He averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 assists per game. Vejraska started 25 of 30 contests and produced just over ten points in 21 minutes per game. The slender 6’8”, 195-pound junior has 51 career blocked shots.

Junior college transfer Miles Taylor and freshman guard Lorne Merthie rounded out the starting line-up against Chowan. Taylor, who has been praised for his high-energy game, had 14 points in his Camel debut. Merthie was a second-team all-state performer last year in Florida. Coach Laing has referred to him as someone who has very high basketball I.Q. who just knows how to play the game.

Did you know? East Carolina assistant coach Darryl LaBarrie coached at Campbell prior to joining the Pirate staff last season.

ECU vs Campbell Prediction

After winning two games that it should’ve won, the Pirates are presented with their first opportunity to collect a Division I win. Campbell’s Jonathan Rodriguez is an extremely talented player and could very well present some mismatches for East Carolina. The Pirates could possibly put Jamar Abrams or Daquan Joyner on Rodriguez. ECU is unlikely to shut him down, but if they can force him to earn every point he gets the rest of the Camels’ line-up may not be able to produce enough to supplement their star.

Campbell is the most talented they’ve been in some time, but the Pirates should still have too much talent for the Camels. ECU’s frontcourt of Chad Wynn, Darrius Morrow and Daquan Joyner could have a big game against a smaller Campbell line-up that will probably feature four starters that are 6’5” or shorter.

East Carolina 79 - Campbell 62