Box Score GREENVILLE, N.C. – Maurice Kemp and Miguel Paul combined for 42 points to lift East Carolina over the Norfolk State men's basketball team, 74-63, Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

Kemp shot 9-of-13 for a season-high 23 points, while Paul added 19, including an 11-of-12 effort from the free throw line. The victory improved ECU's record to 8-3 while the Spartans fell to 6-9 with their fourth straight loss, all on the road.

The Spartans were led by junior Pendarvis Williams, who added 15 points and seven rebounds on the day, including 11 points in the second half. Freshman Rashid Gaston scored eight points in the second half and 12 all-together to go along with seven boards.

NSU never led in the game but got as close as four with a little less than 12 minutes to go. A 12-0 run by ECU, though, pushed the Pirate lead to 16, and the Spartans were unable to get any closer than eight the rest of the way when Williams hit a couple of 3-pointers.

For the third straight game, an NSU opponent lit up the scoreboard with its shooting, as East Carolina knocked down 24-of-49 (49 percent) for the game, compared to a 35.8 percent effort from the Spartans on 24-of-67 shooting.

But after getting out-hustled on the boards in each of the last four games, NSU finally got on the positive side of the rebounding margin, holding a 39-35 edge on the glass. Thanks to a 19-7 advantage in offensive boards, the Spartans outscored the Pirates in second chance points, 21-6.

Down by seven at the half, NSU was able to keep the Pirate lead in single digits through the first 10 minutes of the second half. Senior Kris Brown hit a trey from the left wing cut the Pirate lead to 44-38 at the 15:39 mark. Junior Marese Phelps sank a floater with the shot clock winding down, and a thunderous dunk from Gaston capped a short 6-2 run for NSU that made it 48-44 at the 11:51 mark, forcing an ECU timeout.

The Pirates responded from there, going on that 12-0 run over a four-minute span to go up by the largest of the game at 16, 60-44. The Spartans got as close as eight the rest of the way after Williams drained a pair of treys in the final few minutes of action.

Senior Rob Johnson and junior Malcolm Hawkins chipped in with eight points each, while Johnson also grabbed seven boards.

A pair of 3-pointers from Paul helped ECU eventually stake claim to a 13-4 lead to start the game, but Hawkins ended that early Pirate run with back-to-back fastbreak buckets. Those two shots began a 13-5 run for the Spartans that also included an easy layup and a step back five-footer from Gaston and a collective 5-of-6 effort from the charity stripe.

NSU cut the deficit to one, 18-17, with 10:36 to go after that run, but East Carolina immediately countered with an 11-4 spurt to go up by eight, 29-21, at the 6:18 mark. Junior Kievyn Lila-St. Rose hit a jumper in the lane, and Johnson's tip-in on a free throw miss then cut the East Carolina lead to four with five minutes left in the first half.

The Pirates, though, went up by as much as nine late in the first stanza and took a seven point lead into the break, 38-31. Paul and Kemp combined for 24 points to lead ECU in the first half.

Robert Sampson chipped in with 12 points and nine boards for ECU, while Paul led all players with eight assists. The Pirates shot 21-of-26 from the charity stripe, including 13-of-16 in the second half.

NSU converted on just 11-of-17 from the free throw line.

NSU will finish out its five-game road swing at Ball State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.