By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — While the weather outside was frightful, inside Minges Coliseum everything was delightful as East Carolina shot 51 percent from the field to down Fayetteville State 91-70 on Saturday.
The win was the Pirates’ fifth in a row and improved their record to 7-2, which is their best start over the first nine games since ECU went 8-1 in the 2007-08 season.
East Carolina point guard Brock Young continued to show improved mobility after having knee surgery during the preseason as the senior tallied game-highs in points and assists with 22 and seven, respectively.
Young’s effort helped him rack up 1,020 career points, making him only the 24th player in Conference USA history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark.
Everyone on East Carolina’s roster was able to get minutes and points during the blowout, junior forward Darrius Morrow was the only other Pirate to reach double figures in scoring as he tallied 11 points in only 16 minutes of play while pulling down six rebounds.
As the snow fell outside, the Pirates’ jumpers dropped inside as ECU nailed five three-pointers in the first eight minutes and took a 24-8 lead after a triple by freshman Robert Sampson.
The Pirates executed on offense crisply against an aggressive man-to-man defense by the Broncos (3-3, CIAA) as Young and Morrow proved to be the catalysts early.
“Brock was very good in this game, he shot the ball well for us in the perimeter” ECU first-year coach Jeff Lebo said. “And I thought Morrow had good energy from the start.”
Lebo said he was happy to see his team respond positively after topping Charlotte in a 62-61 thriller on Wednesday.
“I thought for 30 minutes tonight we played really well,”Lebo said. “I was worried about this game after coming off an emotional win … The last 10 minutes weren’t great but at least everybody got a chance to play.”
While East Carolina looked sharp on offense, the defense was just as effective as it held Fayetteville State to 24-of-70 shooting (34 percent), making it the fifth straight game the Pirates have held an opponent under 40 percent from the floor.
East Carolina will play the final game of its five-game home stand on Dec. 7 when they host Old Dominion at 7 p.m.