North Carolina Central University

BASKETBALL

     GREENVILLE, NC - North Carolina Central University stayed close with Division I East Carolina University for the first 24 minutes before the Pirates' outside shooting heated up and ECU sailed to a 68-47 men's basketball victory over the Division II Eagles Sunday afternoon in Greenville, N.C.
     NCCU (2-1) trailed 23-17 at the half, then pulled to within 28-26 on an old-fashioned three-point play by senior forward Drew Johnson at 16:39 of the second stanza. That is as close as the Eagles would come to an upset, as ECU posted a 12-2 run courtesy of four consecutive three-point baskets to build a double-digit cushion the Pirates would never relinquish.
     After ECU shot a dismal 29 percent (8-of-28) from the floor in the first half, including an 18 percent effort from long range (2-of-11), the Pirates blistered the nets in the final 20 minutes by shooting 57 percent (17-of-30) from the field, including 67 percent (6-of-9) from three-point land.
     ECU (4-1) was led by Courtney Captain with 16 points, followed by Darrell Jenkins with 11 points and John Fields with 10.
     NCCU was topped by Johnson with 16 points and eight rebounds, while senior center Jason Hervey added 13 points and seven rebounds.