Spring Break
ECU records important last-minute wins
Kellen Holtzman
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: Sports
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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.
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