MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Joe Jackson scored 15 points, Shaq Goodwin
added 12 points and eight rebounds and Memphis overcame a
second-half flurry from East Carolina to defeat the Pirates
67-54 Wednesday night.



Jackson was 7 of 11 from the field as Memphis (11-3, 1-0
Conference USA) won its fifth straight. D.J. Stephens had six
points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots for the
Tigers.



Shamarr Bowden, who keyed a second-half run for East Carolina
(9-5, 0-1), and Maurice Kemp led the Pirates with 11 points
each. Robert Sampson and Miguel Paul finished with 10 points
apiece. Paul was 2 for 7 from the field, but 2 of 3 from outside
the arc.



Memphis led by 27 in the first half, but East Carolina used
3-point shooting to score 21 straight points spanning the first
and second halves to make the game interesting.



East Carolina's rally cut the lead to single digits on several
occasions in the second half, but the Pirates could get no
closer than 61-54 on Sampson's 3-pointer with 3:04 remaining.



Memphis would end the night controlling the boards 41-23,
including 14 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second-chance
points.



East Carolina connected on a 3-pointer to start the game, but
that was the biggest highlight for a while for the Pirates.



East Carolina went 8-plus minutes after that without a field
goal as Memphis forced turnovers and got on the boards.



The Tigers scored 13 unanswered points for the first
double-digit lead of the game and built the advantage to as much
as 39-12.



Kemp scored the last seven points of the half for East Carolina
to cut the Memphis margin to 39-19 at intermission.



Jackson had seven points for Memphis, which shot 48.6 percent
for the half (17 of 35). Kemp and Paul had seven points each for
the Pirates, who managed 30 percent from the field (6 of 20) and
committed 12 turnovers.



By that point, Memphis had outrebounded the Pirates 23-11, 10 of
the Tigers rebounds coming from the offensive glass.



But East Carolina continued its streak of unanswered points,
opening the second half with 14 straight, as Bowden connected
from outside the arc, the Pirates hitting their first four shots
from 3-point range.



When Bowden connected from outside with 17:20 left, the Tigers'
lead was down to 39-33.



Memphis would rebuild the lead to double digits on several
occasions, and the Tigers never really were threatened, although
East Carolina stayed close enough to keep Memphis from
comfortably closing the game.