By Ronnie Moore

Contributed

 

Same story, just a different venue. The East Carolina men’s basketball team has seen its fair share of bad luck, every team has, but the Pirates have struggled mightily since facing Virginia Military on Dec. 21.

Thursday night in Murfreesboro, Tenn. was no exception as the Pirates were outmatched in an 84-67 loss.

The Pirates (11-10) have lost six straight and eight of their last nine games, with the lone win coming against the Campbell Camels.

On Thursday night, ECU faced off against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (14-7, 4-2 C-USA). Like most nights, ECU was outmatched in the paint and the size department.

Senior Shawn Jones used his 6-foot-8 frame to the best of his ability and scored a game high 22 points to go along with his 11 rebounds and five blocks. This was Jones’ seventh double-double of the season.

Sophomore Michael Zangari was manning the middle for the Pirates once again, but foul trouble halted his effectiveness on the night. After scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds, Zangari fouled out in just 21 minutes on the court.

Freshman Caleb White scored 18 points, the most since he scored 24 against VMI, to lead the Pirates. Even with his great offensive output, White still managed just one rebound and one assist in 37 minutes of action. If the Pirates hope to be successful, the 6-foot-7 freshman needs to be active off the ball in the rebounding department.

The Pirates, who are still seeking their first Conference USA win of the season, are giving up more than 71 points per game in their six respective conference games. The 84 points allowed to Middle Tennessee are the most since the clocks have turned to 2014.

Akeem Richmond is the lone senior who plays considerable minutes for the Pirates. His leadership has been important to this relatively young team, but what has hurt the Pirates is his lackluster shooting percentage. Richmond, the nations leader in three-point makes (94), is connecting on just 39.6 percent of his shots and those all too familiar 4-for-14 nights need to be a thing of the past as they head deeper into the conference schedule.

For a young team like ECU, efficiency is the most important thing. They may be limited by their depth or lack of size, but a big key is hustling after every loose ball and shooting an acceptable percentage from the floor. Making the extra pass and hitting the open shots will help the Pirates defensively.

After a slow start to the game, Head Coach Jeff Lebo and his team were unable to dig themselves out of the 19-point halftime deficit.

ECU will try to end their losing streak when they face the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.