Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
East Carolina
Damier Pitts Career Game Leads Herd Past Pirates, 78-65
2/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2011
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Junior guard Damier Pitts scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Thundering Herd men's basketball team to a 78-65 win over East Carolina Saturday afternoon at Minges Coliseum.
Marshall (16-9, 4-6 C-USA) took a 27-point lead in the second half, but East Carolina (13-11, 5-5 C-USA) made a furious rally to get to within five points in the final minutes. The Herd was able to counter, making ten free throws in a row to seal the win.
"It's a great win, I am very proud of this group after the way we played on Wednesday night. We showed great character and resolve," Marshall head coach Tom Herrion said. "This game was won Thursday, Friday and today at shootaround. Our focus and unity was outstanding."
"We dominated on the glass and our defense was phenomenal and we turned it over way too many times, but this is a great win on the road."
A hot start saw the Herd open up a 12-3 advantage in the opening minutes of the game. After ECU hit a trey to open the game, Marshall would reel off the next 12 points while holding the Pirates to just 1-of-10 shooting in the first eight minutes.
East Carolina would quickly cut into its deficit, making it a 12-7 game on a three-pointer by Brock Young, but Marshall found its groove once again, seeing its advantage grow to as many as 14 tallies, 27-13, with just under five minutes left in the half on a three by Dago Pena.
The Pirates fought back once again, getting to within seven points before the Herd would reestablish its double-digit lead, taking a 13-point edge at the half following a three at the buzzer by Shaquille Johnson. It was a solid start for the Herd, who finished the half with an advantage of 17 rebounds on the glass, however, its 13 turnovers in the opening period kept the game within striking distance for ECU.
After going scoreless over the first three minutes of the second stanza, Johnny Thomas got the Herd started with a layup that marked the beginning of a 16-0 run that saw the Herd extend its lead to 50-23. Johnson notched his second three before Thomas chipped in an and-one. The run was capped off by Damier Pitts' second three-pointer of the half with 13:52 remaining.
Refusing to relent, the Pirates made a run of their own, knocking down three treys in a span of 1:06, forcing four turnovers and closing the lead to just 15, 51-36. Their run continued as a three by Erin Straughn capped off what would turn into a 25-5 Pirate run over the course of just 6:34.
ECU kept the pressure on as a layup by Brock Young with 5:09 left in the game cut the Marshall lead to just five, 58-53, but the Herd regained a bit of breathing room as 6-0 spurt made it a 64-53 game in favor of MU with just over three minutes left. Marshall was able to convert late free throws, including a string of ten straight, to escape with the 78-65 victory.
Saturday's performance was highlighted by Marshall's 44-22 dominance over ECU on the boards. The Herd also exhibited a hot shooting night, hitting 56.8% of its shots while the defense held ECU to 39.7%.
Pitts finished with his career-high of 28 points, the highest total for a Marshall player this season. Johnson notched 14 points while DeAndre Kane finished with 12. Leading the way for East Carolina was Jontae Sherrod, who recorded 19 points. Young notched 18 while Erin Straughn finished with ten.
The Herd will be back at the Henderson Center on Wednesday as it will play host to Rice at 7 p.m. From there, MU will travel to New Orleans to face Tulane on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
