ECU records important last-minute wins

When coach Mack McCarthy took the reigns of the ECU men's basketball program, wins over VCU and Winthrop were anything but a given. Just one season into his regime, McCarthy's team continues to prove things aren't what they used to be.

After losing a closely contested battle last Saturday with George Mason, 77-71, the Pirates bounced back with victories over the Rams and the Eagles. ECU held off VCU's Eric Maynor in a 93-90 overtime thriller before knocking off Winthrop, 63-60, in Rock Hill, S.C.

Sam Hinnant clinched the big win over the Eagles with 1:07 remaining when he scored two of his 19 points to give the Pirates a 61-60 lead.

After Winthrop failed to regain the lead, a layup from point guard Brock Young gave ECU a three-point advantage with 25 seconds left. Jontae Sherrod grabbed the game-securing rebound on the ensuing possession.

The Pirates continued to get solid play in the post from Darrius Morrow and Chad Wynn. Morrow put up 13 points and seven rebounds while Wynne came up just short of a double-double with nine points and 10 boards.

The Eagles built a 27-16 lead in the first half before ECU put together a 15-5 run to close the margin to 32-31 at halftime.

The Pirates never led by more than six in a second half that featured five ties and seven lead changes.

Last Tuesday's tilt with VCU was even more nail-biting.

After a three-pointer from Maynor tied the game with 1:43 left in overtime, Morrow went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to give ECU a 91-90 lead.

The Rams turned to their stud, Maynor, a product of Westover High School in Raeford, N.C. Despite a 35-point performance, Maynor's heroics came to a conclusion when he was called for a charge in the lane on Hinnant.

"That was a heck of a basketball game," said McCarthy. "I knew VCU would play a heck of a basketball game, but I wasn't sure if we were ready to play that caliber of game or not. You don't know how a young team is going to respond to their first loss. The guys appeared to take it pretty hard and then focus on what we had to do."

ECU led by eight with less than three minutes to play in regulation, but the Rams put themselves in position to tie the game with less than a minute to play. Maynor drove into the lane and found Larry Sanders for an emphatic alley-oop dunk to knot the score at 82.

ECU had five players reach double-figures, led by James Legan with 20 points. Legan also led the team with four three-pointers. Legan's backcourt partner Hinnant finished with 18 in addition to drawing the crucial charge. Hinnant also converted a crucial four-point play in overtime when he was fouled, shooting from long range.

VCU coach Anthony Grant had high praise for Legan and Hinnant.

"ECU has two of the best shooters in college basketball in how they can rise up and make tough shots," said Grant. "It's not like they're not being guarded and are wide open. They are making tough, contested shots. Hinnant's four-point play was huge. That was a big shot and a great individual play by him."

Young frequently found himself one-on-one with Maynor and made the most of his opportunities, putting forth perhaps his best effort as a Pirate. The sophomore notched a double-double in true point guard fashion, with 17 points and 11 assists.

Steady play from Young made it much easier for Morrow and sophomore Daquan Joyner to contribute. Morrow pulled down a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Joyner showed flashes of his future in a 12-point performance.

But it was the duo's physical presence that pleased their coach the most.

"In the second half they were hurting us on the backboard, and Daquan Joyner and Darrius Morrow went in and just changed the game completely by allowing them only one shot on four, five or six possessions in a row," McCarthy said.

ECU got off to a sluggish start as the Rams built an early 27-15 lead, but Joyner kept the Pirates in the game in the first half, leading all scorers with 12 points. Joyner scored the last five points of the half to cut VCU's lead to 37-33.

The Pirates weren't as fortunate when 2006 national semifinalist George Mason took the Minges Coliseum floor to hand ECU its first loss of the season.

A Morrow layup got the Pirates within two points at 73-71 with 19 seconds remaining before the Patriots finished off the game with clutch free throw shooting.

Hinnant led all scorers with 27 points. Wynn chipped in with 11 points in 19 minutes played.

"I knew they were going to come in and play hard," said Hinnant. "They made a lot of shots and came out with a win. Every time it felt like we were getting a little bit of a lead, they came down and made a three-pointer. It seems like they just had it tonight, and hopefully, we'll have nights like that too."

Louis Birdsong and Andre Cornelius led George Mason with 19 points apiece.

The two teams went back and forth for the duration of the game, combining for a lofty 21 made three point shots.

ECU looks to improve its record against the CAA to 2-1 as it makes the short trip east to face rival UNCW tomorrow.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com