Pirates finish seventh at Paradise Jam

Game 1

Tennessee 105,

ECU 66

Scotty Hopson hit four 3-pointers and scored 25 points Friday as No. 10 Tennessee rolled to a 105-66 victory over ECU in the opening round of the Paradise Jam at the University of Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center.

Hopson, who has made 14 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc this season, connected on 10-15 field attempts, including four of five 3-pointers, prompting praise from Pirate head coach Mack McCarthy.

"At 6-foot-7, it's hard to contest him," McCarthy said. "What is he, 14 of 18 this season? There are guys that aren't shooting that from the free throw line." Tennessee's Bobby Maze scored 15 points, Cameron Tatum had 14, Tyler Smith 13 and Melvin Goins added 10 points and five assists. Seven of the Volunteers hit 3-pointers; the team collectively made 13 of 24.

Tennessee's defense created many of the scoring opportunities, smothering the Pirates with its self-styled "controlled chaos" press. Tennessee forced 35 turnovers, which were the most in Bruce Pearl's five years as the Vols' head coach.

The Vols opened an early lead, but the Pirates mounted a spirited charge to take six minutes and eight seconds into the game. Sherrod and Turner hit back-to-back 3s to put ECU ahead 15-13. A jumper by Young and a pair of free throws from Morrow gave the Pirates their largest lead of the game at 19-13 with 11:06 left in the half.

Young's jumper proved to be ECU's only field goal over the next 12 minutes as Tennessee turned up its defensive pressure and scored 10 unanswered points to retake the lead, 23-19 with 9:02 to go. The Vols continued to apply the pressure and surged to a 32-20 lead. Young, who led the Pirates with 15 points, made two free throws to interrupt the UT run, but the Vols outscored the Pirates 30-12 in the final 12 minutes and took a 43-29 halftime lead.

"They certainly wore us down," McCarthy said. "They don't lose much when they go to the bench. But 35 turnovers? I don't think I've ever seen that."

When it did penetrate the Vols' defense and protect the basketball, ECU made good shots and took advantage of those opportunities. The Pirates shot 52.6 percent (20-38) from the floor.

The problem was that Tennessee made more shots than ECU attempted. The Vols connected on 40-69 field goal attempts for 58.0 percent.

Game 2

Northern Iowa 74,

ECU 68

Adam Koch scored 25 points to lead Northern Iowa to a 74-68 victory over ECU Saturday in the consolation round of the U.S. Virgin Islands' Paradise Jam.

Brock Young led the Pirates with 18 points, while Jamar Abrams and Jontae Sherrod added 15 points each. Darrius Morrow chipped in 12 points.

The Panthers led by 10, 39-29, at halftime behind 15 first-half points from Adam Koch, who sank four 3s prior to intermission. Back-to-back 3s from Koch gave UNI and early four-point lead, which he extended to nine with a jumper at the 11:56 mark.

Northern Iowa maintained the lead throughout the first half and lead by 14 with 1:46 following a pair of free throws by Ali Farokmanesh. ECU scored the final four points of the half as Abrams and Sherrod both made jump shots.

Jordan Eglseder, who recorded a double-double with 19 point and 10 rebounds, scored eight of the Panthers' first 13 points of the second half to push their lead to back to 14, 47-33, with 15:13 left. The Pirates slowly cut into the Panthers' lead and pulled within six on a pair of free throws by Sherrod with 8:10 to play. Young later sank two free throws to bring ECU within four, 57-53.

Eglseder then snatched the moment from the Pirates, grabbing a defensive rebound and dropping in a hook shot to give UNI at six-point lead. Koch added two free throws on the Panthers' next possession for an eight-point advantage. Abrams layup with 2:20 to go brought ECU within five. With the shot clock running down, UNI called timeout to set up a play. Kwadzo Ahelegbe then hit a fade-away jumper as the shot clock expired to push the Panthers lead back to seven with 1:43 to play.

The Pirates made a trio of 3s in the final 1:13, but the Panthers sank seven of eight free throws in the last 60 seconds to preserve victory.

Both teams shot over 40 percent from the field and over 70 percent at the foul line. UNI outscored ECU by six at the free throw line where it converted 22 of 30 attempts, compared to 16 of 21 by the Pirates.

The Pirates cut down their number of turnovers from their previous game against Tennessee by 24, committing only 11 miscues on the night; the fewest of the season.

Game 3

ECU 82,

South Dakota State 73

ECU sophomore Jontae Sherrod scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Pirates to an 82-73 victory over South Dakota State on Monday in the seventh-place game of the U.S. Virgin Islands' Paradise Jam. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Pirates.

Sherrod sank five of seven shots behind the arc and finished nine of 15 from the floor. Darrius Morrow added a season-high 16 points, Chris Turner contributed 11 points and Chad Wynn netted 10. Brock Young handed out 10 assists in the victory.

Despite trailing by 20 points in the first half, ECU used its size advantage to mount the program's largest comeback since rallying from 18 down against Appalachian State in 1991. The Pirates out-scored their opponent by 14 in the paint and out-rebounded them by seven.

Trailing 40-26 with 42 second left in the first half, Morrow's basket began a 17-0 run that last nearly three minutes into the second half. Sherrod sank a trio of 3s in the first two minutes of the second half to give the Pirates a 41-40 lead. Jamar Abrams' jumper then put the Pirates ahead by three, forcing SDSU to call a timeout.

The Pirates shot a season-high 57.1 percent from 3-point land, connecting on eight of 14 attempts.

ECU regained the lead, 64-62, with 8:47 to play on Sherrod's fourth 3 of the night. SDSU quickly regained a five-point edge as Clint Sargent sank a 3, Garrett Callahan added a free throw and Anthony Cordova put back Callahan's second free throw miss.

Callahan led the Jackrabbits with 18 points, draining five 3s. Sargent made four 3s and finished with 11 points as SDSU connected on 13 of 25 attempts from beyond the arc.

On the ensuing possession, Turner drilled a 3 from the wing before Morrow's bucket in the paint tied the score at 71-all. Abrams then put the Pirates ahead to stay with a follow-up of Young's miss. Abrams converted the 3-point play to put ECU up, 74-71.

Sherrod then stole the ball from Callahan with 1:59 to go and laid it up for a five-point lead.

Consecutive turnovers from Kai Williams resulted in four unanswered points and a seven-point lead. Turner then sank two free throws with 23 seconds remaining for the final margin of victory.

The Jackrabbits first three field goals, and four of their first five, all came from behind the arc as they built a 10-point lead, 16-6, eight minutes into the game. SDSU held the Pirates without a field goal over a four-minute stretch midway through the half to build a 29-9 lead with 7:49 left before intermission.

ECU pulled within 12 at halftime as it outscored South Dakota State, 19-12, in the last eight minutes of the half.

The Pirates will return to action Saturday, Nov. 28, against UNC Greensboro. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.