WRAL Sports Fan

Final Score: East Carolina 79, Rice 63

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Led by a game-high 33 points from Maurice Kemp, the East Carolina Pirates downed the Rice Owls, 79-63, in a Conference USA tilt at Tudor Fieldhouse.

For the Pirates (13-8, 4-4 C-USA), Ty Armstrong added 22 points and Miguel Paul dished out six assists.

Tamir Jackson led the Owls (5-16, 1-6) with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Austin Ramljak chipped in with 12 points.

ECU shot 46.2 percent from the field, but just 1-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first period. ECU held Rice to just 34.6 percent from the field and ended the half on a 6-1 run to take a 29-26 lead at the break.

The Owls improved from the field after halftime, making 41.9 percent of their shots and hitting on 3-of-10 from 3-point distance. Unfortunately for Rice, ECU shot lights out in the second half, knocking down a scorching 71.4 percent of its field goal tries in the second half to put the game away.

ECU had the edge on points in the paint, 44-32. The Pirates finished the game shooting 57.4 percent from the field.