Morrow leads Pirates to 69-68 overtime victory over Marshall

Senior power forward scores 27 points in his final home game

Darrius Morrow’s memories of his final game in Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum will be fond ones, as the senior power forward produced a stellar 27-point performance and East Carolina hung on for a 69-68 overtime victory over Marshall on Wednesday night.

After allowing the Thundering Herd to shoot well over 50 percent (25-of-45) in regulation, the Pirates (13-15, 4-11) tightened up on the defensive end in overtime. Marshall managed just one field goal (1-of-11) in the extra five minutes and it came with just three seconds remaining.

Amazingly, East Carolina earned the victory despite not recording an official shot attempt during overtime. It’s dismal 6-of-13 effort at the free throw line would suffice.

The Herd (17-12, 8-7), which shot better than the Pirates, also held a commanding 40-25 advantage on the glass in the contest, but were plagued by the uncharacteristic 20 turnovers they committed.

Marshall took a ten-point lead early after a dunk by Dennis Tinnon made it 17-7 with just over 13 minutes to play.

The Pirates produced a 10-2 run and got within 19-17 after a Maurice Kemp dunk with 8:07 left.

The Herd extended the lead back to six on three occasions over the next three-plus minutes and was up 27-21 after Damier Pitts’ free throws with 4:36 remaining.

Four straight points by Darrius Morrow capped another 10-2 spurt that gave ECU a 31-29 lead with less than two minutes to go in the half.

After trailing 34-32 at the break, Marshall held the lead for nearly the first seven minutes of the second half before Morrow knotted the score at 44-44 with a jumper.

Freshman Paris Roberts-Campbell proceeded to get a steal and a lay-up to make it 46-44 with 12:36 left.

However, Marshall managed to build a five-point advantage at 59-54 when DeAndre Kane converted the first of two free throws with just over five minutes remaining.

Consecutive three-pointers by Miguel Paul and Paris Roberts-Campbell gave ECU a 61-59 lead with 3:23 left.

A lay-up by Morrow pushed the score to 63-59 with just over two minutes to go, but back-to-back hoops by Tinnon and Shaquille Johnson squared the game at 63 at the 1:07 mark.

Following a critical stop where Corvonn Gaines blocked Kane’s potential go-ahead shot, the Pirates had an opportunity to win it at the buzzer, but Paul front-rimmed his fade away three-point attempt.

Morrow’s second of two free throw attempts gave East Carolina the lead for good with 3:20 left in overtime.

The senior sunk three of his next four charity tosses to make it 67-63 at the 1:50 mark.

From that point, the Pirates were unable to slam the door on the Herd.

Damier Pitts cut his club’s deficit to 67-65 with 1:36 remaining and Marshall allowed two golden opportunities to tie or take the lead slip through its hands when the Pirates turned it over and missed two free throws on consecutive possessions.

Down four with 13 ticks left following a pair of free throws by Paul, Johnson drained a three with 1.9 seconds to go.

The Herd wasn’t able to foul until there was just four tenths of a second left. Paul missed the first, intentionally missing the second, but time expired on Tom Herrion and Marshall’s hopes.

Maurice Kemp, who scored ten points and grabbed eight boards, was the only other Pirate to score in double figures.

Paris Roberts-Campbell and Robert Sampson finished with nine each for ECU. Roberts-Campbell also had four steals while Sampson’s points came via three three-pointers.

The Pirates’ ability to protect the ball, as they committed just 11 turnovers, was a huge factor in allowing them to emerge with the win.

Damier Pitts and DeAndre Kane scored 17 each for Marshall. Shaquille Johnson also reached double figures after finished with ten points.