East Carolina uses strong second half to soar past Eagles, 68-47

Pirates make first five three-pointers after break, shoot 56.7% from field in half

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this fall to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA sports coverage. Today, our ECU Correspondent Thomas "Bubba" Rosenbaum brings you a recap of the basketball game between East Carolina and NCCU.

East Carolina could not throw it in the ocean in the first half on Sunday afternoon, but fortunately for the Pirates, neither could North Carolina Central. Ricky Stokes’ club led 23-17 at the break, but they heated up in the second half and cruised to a 68-47 win over the Division II Eagles.

ECU jumped out to an 8-2 lead with 17:18 remaining, following a three-pointer by Courtney Captain and five points from Darrell Jenkins.

East Carolina's Darrell Jenkins shoots a free throw late in the first half of Sunday afternoon's game against North Carolina Central.

The Pirates would not score for the next 5:39, but still managed to be tied at 8 with just over 12 minutes to play.

ECU went on a 10-3 run over the next six and a half minutes to grab their biggest lead of the half at 18-11 at the 5:30 mark of the first half.

Billy Wilson’s explosive dunk pulled the Eagles within three at 18-15 with just over three minutes to go.

The Pirates’ 23-17 lead at the break was largely due to the fact that they had 11 points off NCCU turnovers. Conversely, the Eagles only had two points off the Pirates’ miscues.

East Carolina connected on five consecutive three-pointers to start the second half, which included three by Captain and two by Hinnant. These fueled a 17-9 run and the Pirates built their lead to double figures at 40-28 with 14:34 remaining in the game.

The Pirates’ margin would stay in double figures the rest of the way.

The lead grew to 21 when John Fields threw down the Pirates’ fifth dunk in four and a half minutes. Fields, the long Pirate freshman, had three of those.

ECU’s biggest lead in the game was 22 when it led 61-39 with just over four minutes to play.

Following a less than impressive first half, the Pirates combined hot shooting and smothering defense to blow the game wide open in the second 20 minutes.

Pirate freshman Brandon Evans allows the final seconds to run out in East Carolina's 68-47 victory over Division II North Carolina Central.  With the win, the Pirates improved to 4-1 on the season.

John Fields continues to swat and alter opponents’ shots. The 6-9 freshman recorded five blocked shots in the game and now has 20 through his first five games in the purple and gold. He was one of three Pirates in double figures and finished with ten points in the game while pulling down five rebounds.

Courtney Captain led ECU with 16 points and connected on four of his six attempts from behind the arc. Darrell Jenkins scored in double figures again, posting 11 points and five assists.

The Pirates received their best performance yet from center Justin Ramsey. The 6-10, 250-pound freshman scored seven points and pulled down three boards in 14 minutes of action. This is a good sign, as ECU will need him to play significant minutes as the season progresses.

East Carolina finished with a 38-33 advantage on the boards, and has now outrebounded its opponent in every game this season.

The Pirates also did a good job in the turnover department, as they had 11 in the contest.