Pirates pull out impressive 93-90 overtime victory over VCU

Five East Carolina players reached double figures; Maynor leads Rams with 35

East Carolina coach Mack McCarthy was anxious to see how his young team would respond to Saturday night’s 77-71 home loss to George Mason.

Well, the second-year coach of the Pirates had to be pleased with the answer that his club provided him on Tuesday night.

ECU (4-1) concluded its season-opening five-game homestand with a thrilling 93-90 overtime victory over VCU and demonstrated tremendous resiliency in the process.

After Brock Young put the Pirates up 8-7 just less than five minutes into the game, ECU’s ship began taking on water and they spent the rest of the half just trying to keep it from capsizing while they adjusted to VCU’s speed and pressure defense.

VCU went on an 11-2 run over the next 3:22 and took an 18-10 lead on a three-pointer by Bradford Burgess. ECU used back-to-back hoops by James Legan and DaQuan Joyner to close within 18-15 at the 10:35 mark, but the Rams responded with a 9-0 spurt to take their biggest lead of the night at 27-15 when Eric Maynor hit a three with eight minutes left before the break.

The Pirates actually benefited from having to go with a smaller line-up due to big men Chad Wynn and Darrius Morrow picking up two quick fouls apiece. Wynn and Morrow only played four and six minutes, respectively, in the opening half. Therefore, sophomore DaQuan Joyner saw increased minutes as the lone big in ECU’s four-guard line-up. Joyner, who scored all 12 of his points in the first 20 minutes, provided the Pirates with a much needed spark and fueled an 18-10 run to end the half that closed the deficit to 37-33 at the break.

As Mack McCarthy said with a chuckle going off the floor, “We survived that half.” It did have that feel to it, but the Pirates had to be very happy with where things stood given the foul trouble in the frontcourt and their poor perimeter shooting (1-of-7 from three-point range).

East Carolina continued its run as the second half began and took a 39-37 lead on a Sam Hinnant hoop with 18:28 to play—its first advantage since the 15 minute mark of the first half. The lead grew to four at 45-41 on a three-point play by Chad Wynn, but it was short-lived as a 6-0 flurry by VCU gave the Rams the lead right back. However, it would be their final time in front.

After playing only six minutes in the first half, Darrius Morrow became a dominant force in the paint after the break. Six points by the talented freshman spurred a 13-2 run that put the Pirates up 58-49 with 10:25 to play.

Reigning CAA player of the year Eric Maynor, who is the lone senior for the Rams, showed why he is a potential first round selection in this coming June’s NBA Draft.

The pace picked up and everytime the Pirates had perhaps given themselves a little breathing room, Maynor had an answer. Big time players make big time plays when their team needs them and Maynor delivered time and again.

When it wasn’t Maynor killing the Pirates, 6’10” center Larry Sanders was. Sanders, who has an amazing 91” wing span, gave ECU fits down low.

Maynor’s third trifecta capped a 10-4 run that trimmed the Rams deficit to 62-59 with over seven minutes remaining.

ECU answered with its own 10-4 spurt and James Legan’s fourth triple pushed the lead back to nine at 72-63 with 5:06 to play.

Maynor’s fifth three of the contest cut the Pirates’ margin back to three at 81-78 with 1:13 to go.

The Pirates had a chance to put the game away at the line, but Sam Hinnant and Brock Young went a combined 1-of-4.

Maynor proceeded to find Larry Sanders for the game-tying dunk with 35 seconds left.

ECU held for the last shot, but the game headed to overtime when Sam Hinnant’s last second three-point attempt was off the mark.

The Pirates scratched first in the overtime period, but the Rams immediately responded when Maynor found Sanders for another dunk to knot the score at 84.

Sam Hinnant was only 5-of-17 on the night, but came through with one of the most clutch shots when he produced a four-point play to put his team up 88-84 with 3:22 remaining in the extra period.

However, Maynor and the Rams would comeback again. The 6’3” point guard sank a 23-footer to even things up at 90 with 1:43 left.

With the game still 90 apiece, it look as though VCU may take the lead on another dunk by Sanders, but Brock Young picked Larry Sanders with 49 seconds to play.

On the Pirates’ next possession, they got the ball to Morrow and he drew Sanders’ fifth foul. Sanders walked the plank, but not before an impressive 16-point, 14-rebound effort. He also swatted four shots.

Morrow made the second of his two attempts to put ECU up 91-90.

Maynor would be the next Ram to walk the plank, as he was whistled for his fifth foul on a charging call with only seconds remaining. McCarthy and staff made the prudent decision to double Maynor on the inbounds and he proceeded to charge after getting the ball back on the break.

After missing two key free throws that could have possibly ended the game in regulation, Brock Young knocked a pair down to make it 93-90 with ten seconds to play.

VCU’s Bradford Burgess had a shot to tie the game, but his three-pointer was off the mark as time expired.

East Carolina had its most balanced scoring attack of the year, as five Pirates reached double figures in the contest. James Legan, who played all 45 minutes, led the way with his third 20-point game this season. He was 8-of-13 from the floor, which included a 4-of-8 effort from deep, and also grabbed six rebounds.

Darrius Morrow delivered his best performance and second double-double in his first five games as a Pirate. Morrow really had his way in the paint in the second half. He was relentless on the boards. He finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds—nine of which were offensive.

Brock Young also had a double-double. The sophomore point guard accomplished the feat for the first time in his ECU career while becoming only the seventh to do so with points and assists. He had 17 points and a career-high 11 assists in 41 minutes.

While he had a poor shooting night, Sam Hinnant continued to demonstrate his newfound ability to get to the free throw line consistently. He scored six of his 18 points from the line in this contest while playing the second most minutes on the team (42).

DaQuan Joyner was the fifth player in double figures. Joyner continued to show why Mack McCarthy feels that he possibly made the most improvement from last year to the present. He recorded 12 points—all of which came during a key first half stretch—and he also pulled down a career-high eight boards.

Following the game, McCarthy had more high praise for his talented sophomore. He spoke of how Joyner had been unable to practice on Monday, but still managed to turn out a near double double effort.

East Carolina shot just over 50 percent (50.7) from the floor for the game, but it didn’t shoot free throws as well as it had been (18-of-29). However, the Pirates were 6-of-13 from behind the arc in the second half.

McCarthy and his staff had to be pleased with the improved rebound effort. An area of concern for ECU after the first four games, the Pirates pulled down 46 rebounds compared to 41 by VCU. They continued to share the basketball well, as reflected by their 22 assists compared to 12 turnovers.

VCU shot 41 percent from the floor—making two less shots despite attempting ten more than ECU. The Rams did hit 13 of their 33 attempt from beyond the arc and only committed ten turnovers.

Eric Maynor had a game-high 35 points—25 of which game in the final ten minutes of regulation and overtime. In 41 minutes, he was 11-of-20 from the floor—including 6-of-12 from three-point range. He also had six rebounds and six assists.

Joey Rodriguez also reached double figures for VCU. He had 11 points, but only made four of his 15 shots. Rodriguez did distribute the ball nicely, as he had eight assists on the night.

Brandon Rozzell and Bradford Burgess had nine and eight points, respectively, for the Rams.