Tuesday, November 19, 2013

East Carolina Storms Back to Down Norfolk State, 76-74

DURHAM, North Carolina – East Carolina erased a 17-point second-half deficit, and a last-second tip-in by Norfolk State was waived off as the Pirates escaped with a 76-74 victory over the Spartan men's basketball team on Monday night in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Down by as much as 13 in the first half at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, NSU came back thanks to its defense creating transition points as well as a huge edge in points in the paint. Down by one at the half, NSU came out and hit a quick trey for the lead, an advantage that the Spartans methodically stretched to 17 with nine minutes in the game.

Some full court pressure slowed the Spartans offense, and East Carolina slowly whittled the NSU lead down to just one with less than four minutes left. The Pirates twice went up by two, only to watch the Spartans tie it up, the second time at 72-72 on a layup by redshirt junior Jamel Fuentes.

A 3-point play by Paris Roberts-Campbell with 50.8 seconds left gave the Pirates a three-point edge, but senior Pendarvis Williams hit a layup on the other end with 29.2 to go. Down by one, NSU forced Akeem Richmond to travel to set up a last second attempt.

Williams had the ball stripped from his hands as he drove to the lane, and Roberts-Campbell hit 1-of-2 from the foul line with 6.3 seconds left for a two-point edge. Williams attempted a floater from 10 feet out, and a good tip-in by senior Jordan Weathers came just a split-second too late as the Pirates escaped with the win.



NSU (2-2) will face UNC Asheville at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the consolation of the NIT East Regional.

Williams finished with 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting and second rebounds, while redshirt senior Malcolm Hawkins added 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting with eight rebounds.

Roberts-Campbell led ECU (4-0) with 22 points, while Richmond and Michael Zangari added 17 and 16 points, respectively.

The Spartans had a 50-16 edge in points in the paint, and created 24 points off 18 ECU turnovers.

The Pirates, meanwhile, hit 10-of-25 from 3-point range, including a trio of deep treys from Richmond for a 14-4 lead to start the game. NSU cut it to five, 19-14, thanks to a 3-pointer from redshirt senior Marese Phelps at the top of the key and then a fastbreak layup right after. ECU, though, answered right back with a pair of 3-pointers from Roberts-Campbell.

The Spartans then began to really cut into the ECU lead, as a 3-point play from redshirt senior Anell Alexis and a layup from Williams when NSU had numbers made it 29-24 in favor of the Pirates. A driving spin move in the lane by junior LaTre'e Russell got NSU to three, and a pair of free throws by Hawkins tied it up at 32-32 at 1:32.

Hawkins hit a shot from just inside the 3-point arc at the buzzer to cut NSU's deficit to one at the half, 35-34.

A pair of back-to-back, alley-oop dunks from senior Brandon Goode and Williams put the Spartans up 43-37 early in the second half, eliciting a few floor slaps as the Spartans went back on defense. Weathers had an easy fastbreak for a 50-40 advantage, and NSU went up by 11, 56-45, on a fastbreak by Phelps at 11:57.

NSU began to roll from there thanks to its defense creating opportunities on the other side of the court. Fuentes got down the court after a tipped pass on the other end for a 64-47 lead, capping an 8-0 run and forcing an ECU timeout.

The Pirates then began to get going, using a 23-4 run to take the lead back with less than three minutes remaining. Altogether, East Carolina outscored Norfolk State 29-10 to close out the game.

NSU held a 45-33 edge on the boards. Fuentes finished with nine points, six assists and five rebounds.

East Carolina shot 24-of-38 from the foul line, while NSU was on 10-of-20 despite committing just five more fouls.

NIT Season Tip-Off Tickets

Box Score

By Mike Bello, Assistant Sports Information Director
COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

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