Pirates look to capture historic Conference USA win in Hattiesburg

East Carolina to play Southern Miss in rare Tuesday night game

After recording a thrilling 91-88 overtime victory over Rice on Saturday, East Carolina will head to Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Tuesday night to face struggling Southern Miss.

The Pirates (13-11, 5-6) tied their all-time high for CUSA wins when they outlasted the Owls and will now attempt to get by the Golden Eagles for the second time in less than two weeks en route to a school-record sixth league win.

ECU, which began Conference USA play in men's basketball during the 2001-02 campaign, has taken both games from an opponent just twice during that span. It beat former league foe South Florida twice in the '03-'04 season while it defeated Rice twice last year.

A victory over USM would give the Pirates just their sixth CUSA road win and the Golden Eagles would become the first league team to drop two home contests to ECU. The Pirates are 2-3 all-time at Reed Green Coliseum, but only one of those wins (2003-04) came while the programs were members of Conference USA.

The first meeting between the clubs featured the Pirates building as much as a 12-point first half cushion before taking a 41-31 lead into the locker room. However, Southern Miss showed some grit in the second half and forced ECU to hit its free throws in the final minute to close out the 82-79 win. The Pirates only shot 40 percent from the floor compared to 49 percent for the Golden Eagles, but ECU hit 12-of-29 from deep while USM made only 5-of-15 attempts beyond the arc. The Pirates also made 24-of-29 from the charity stripe and held a slight one rebound edge (37-36) on the glass. Both teams protected the basketball, as they committed just six turnovers apiece.

Five East Carolina and four Southern Miss players scored in double figures. Point guard Brock Young led the way for the Pirates with 17 points while Courtney Beasley had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.

The three-point loss in Greenville on February 4 was the only one by less than 12 during Southern Miss' current five-game skid. The Golden Eagles, whose last win came on January 27 when it defeated Marshall in Hattiesburg, are 7-4 at home this season--including a 2-3 mark in league games. However, they did top second place Houston there. The last time out, Larry Eustachy’s club trailed No. 8 Memphis by only one early in the second half, but the Tigers took control down the stretch and cruised to the 72-47 triumph.

Like East Carolina, Southern Miss suffers from a short bench and utilizes an eight-man line-up. As a result, the Golden Eagles’ defensive efforts lately haven’t been what they were earlier in the season. After not allowing 80 points in their first 19 games, they’ve surrendered 80-plus in three of their last five. Offensively, the bulk of Southern Miss’ production comes from its starting line-up. The four guard line-up of Courtney Beasley, Craig Craft, Jeremy Wise, and R.L Horton scored 71 of the team’s 79 points in the first match-up.

On the other hand, East Carolina has been headed in the opposite direction. The Pirates, who have won three of their last four, scored seven straight to close the game and overcame an 88-84 deficit in the final minute to defeat Rice on a James Legan trifecta with 3.9 seconds remaining in the extra period. ECU delivered offensively and defensively on several key possessions late. It also sank 22-of-25 free throw attempts, which were also crucial in being able to notch the win.

While it did manage to get some key stops late, the Pirates’ defensive effort still left plenty to be desired.

Therefore, ECU’s offensive output of 91 points—which is the most the Pirates have ever scored in a CUSA game—was a necessity. The backcourt trio of James Legan, Sam Hinnant, and Brock Young combined for 54 points on a 19-of-33 shooting effort—including 10-of-19 from three-point range. Darrius Morrow, who entered the game at 60 percent from the free throw line, went 13-of-15 against Rice and tallied 19 points.

Sophomore point guard Brock Young, who leads the nation in assists, had a record-setting performance against Rice by setting another record. The second-year Pirate dished out 14 assists, which tied the single-game assist mark, to set the single-season assists mark. Young currently has 189 assists and is only 42 helpers shy of tying the CUSA single-season record.

James Legan, who has made 71 three-pointers, needs only nine more to tie Fred Primus’ single-season mark of 80.

Final Prediction ECU @ Southern Miss Analysis

Of East Carolina’s three remaining road contests—the Pirates also play at Tulsa and UCF—this is certainly the most winnable. However, with ECU’s lack of depth, it has to do most things well in order to win away from Minges Coliseum and until the Pirates improve on the defensive end and stop allowing multiple shot possessions it is tough to pick them to win a road contest.

Southern Miss 76 - East Carolina 70