By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — East Carolina will finally return home tonight when it tips-off against the Coker College Cobras at 7 p.m.
The Pirates (3-5) have been on the road for seven straight games and have not played in Minges Coliseum since their season-opening win over UVa-Wise on Nov. 13.
During that span ECU didn’t exactly prove to be road warriors as it went 2-5 away from Greenville, which includes a loss to Campbell University.
The Pirates did manage to piece two wins together as they left the Paradise Jam with victory over South Dakota State and then followed it up by topping UNC-Greensboro.
East Carolina’s attempt at a three-game winning streak fell short on Wednesday as it fell to former Conference USA rival Charlotte 80-68.
The 49ers jumped out early and never looked back, however, ECU did manage to cut their lead to as little as seven in the second half.
Point guard Brock Young paced the Pirates with 24 points in the loss, while Chad Wynn pulled down 10 rebounds.
Young leads ECU in scoring with a 15.6 points per game average. Young has dished out a team-high 44 assists, but has also committed 44 turnovers.
Second on the team is sophomore forward Darrius Morrow who is posting 13 points per game along with a team-high seven rebounds a night.
Shooting guard Jontae Sherrod is the only other Pirates with a double-digit scoring average with 12.3 points per contest.
Coker (Conference Carolinas) is a Div. II school that is coming off of back-to-back losses. The Cobras (3-5) fell 65-55 to Morris its last time out on a last-second free throw.
Like the Pirates, Coker has had trouble holding on to the ball and committed 32 turnovers in its most recent loss.
Cobras 6-6 C/F Mason Ambler has been steady force all season and has recorded five double-doubles in six contests. Ambler, a senior, is averaging 18.3 points per game and 10.8 rebounds a night.
Ambler is the tallest of Coker’s expected starting lineup which consists of PG Delonte Doles (5-9), G Vatrick Thompson (6-1), G Thomas Wright (6-2) and G Joselle Bracey (6-2).
Doles is the team’s second leading scorer with 12.4 points per game and has handed out a team-high 19 assists.