Pirates snap four-game skid with 82-73 comeback win vs. South Dakota State

East Carolina’s next game is Saturday at 4pm at in-state foe UNCG

Much more had gone wrong than had gone right in the first five games of the season for East Carolina’s men’s basketball team.

Just over the midway point of the first half of Monday’s Paradise Jam finale’ against South Dakota State, it looked as though those struggles may continue as the Pirates trailed the Jackrabbits by 20.

It would have been easy for a young team facing more adversity to simply fold.

However, ECU (2-4) knocked eight points off the SDSU lead in the final eight minutes of the half to close within 40-28 at the break.

McCarthy’s club carried that momentum into the second half. The Pirates rode the hot-shooting of junior guard Jontae Sherrod to a 15-0 run that put them ahead 43-40 with 17:58 remaining. Sherrod, who finished with a game-high 23 points, hit three trifectas during that spurt.

The Jackrabbits, who played No. 7 Purdue tough before falling 74-63 in the first round, responded with an 11-0 flurry that gave them an eight-point advantage at 51-43 with 15:20 to play.

The game was a see-saw affair over the next 12 minutes and South Dakota State led 71-69 with just over four left.

Sophomore Darrius Morrow, who finished with 16 points and four rebounds, knotted the game at 71 with a lay-up at the 2:58 mark.

Then, a Jamar Abrams tip-in and old-fashioned three-point play with 2:23 on the clock put the Pirates ahead to stay at 74-71.

Chris Turner, who had 11 points, and Brock Young, who finished with a game-high ten assists, both sank a pair of free throws in the final minute to produce the final margin.

ECU shot 55 percent for the game—including an 8-of-14 effort from behind the three-point line. That strong shooting performance enabled the Pirates to win despite South Dakota State’s torrid 13-of-25 showing from long range.

The Pirates will have a chance to get their legs back over Thanksgiving break as they won’t play again until Saturday when they travel to Southern Conference foe UNCG. That contest against East Carolina alum Mike Dement’s Spartans will tip-off at 4 p.m at the Greensboro Coliseum.