3 ECU football players accept all-star game invitations.

GREENVILLE -- The analogy Lance Lewis used for East Carolina’s main problem Saturday night was cancer. That’s what Lewis said each turnover felt like for the Pirates in the first half against North Carolina.

The feeling felt familiar for the Pirates, for they went down a similar path that has marred their season so far.

ECU turned the ball over four times in the first half, and though the Tar Heels didn’t turn those mistakes into 28 points, they did enough damage to build a comfortable lead. The Pirates never threatened the Tar Heels in the 35-20 loss in front of a sellout crowd that set a new attendance record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

updated 8 p.m.

CHARLOTTE – In less a half-minute Friday afternoon, freshman guard Kyrie Irving sent a shudder through teams in the NCAA tournament who suddenly face an even larger obstacle in Duke.

In his first game back from a toe injury that kept him out 3 ½ months, Irving got aggressive in the closing minutes with an 87-45 win over Hampton already wrapped up for No. 1 seed Duke at Time Warner Cable Arena.

WASHINGTON – An up-and-down season for East Carolina ended on a down note Wednesday, the Pirates falling to an irrepressible Maryland team in the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium.

In their backyard, cheered on by their local fans, the Terrapins unleashed their offensive arsenal and pulled out a commanding 51-20 victory for their beleaguered head coach, Ralph Friedgen, who claimed a win in his final game as coach of that program. After 10 seasons, and after he won the 2010 ACC coach of the year award, the school has decided to buy out the final year of his contract.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- N.C. State moved into the winners bracket of the Charleston Classic with a convincing 85-65 victory against East Carolina on Thursday at Carolina First Arena.

The Wolfpack (2-0) plays the winner of Thursday's late game between Charlotte and George Mason at 8:30 p.m. Friday. The Pirates (2-1) will face the 49ers-Patriots loser at 6 p.m.

A Southern Miss upset win at Central Florida has given ECU a hope for new life in the Conference USA East race.

Central Florida, ranked 25th nationally, took a 31-21 loss and now must close the season with road games at Tulane and Memphis.

GREENVILLE – Despite a sluggish start and a few defensive missteps, East Carolina avoided the proverbial letdown on Saturday.

The Pirates put aside their feel-good, non-conference victory over N.C. State last week and met Marshall’s challenge head on, cutting down their Conference USA opponent 37-10 before an announced homecoming crowd of 50,145 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

By TERRY HILL
Correspondent

DURHAM – Durham Hillside started the game by fumbling away the opening kickoff and sputtering on its first offensive possession.

That's about all that went wrong for the Hornets on Friday night.

The No.1 team in the N&O rankings stayed undefeated, cruising to an easy 43-0 road victory over Durham Riverside at Linny Wrenn Stadium.

DURHAM – After losing to his cross-town rival Durham Hillside in a last-second thriller on Sept. 24, Southern Durham coach Adrian Jones said all his team needed was its first win and things would get better.

They’ve gotten a lot better.

Southern defeated PAC-6 conference foe Durham Riverside 47-7 for its third straight win after losing its first six games in a brutal non-conference schedule. The victory keeps the Spartans in second place behind Hillside and Northern Durham (if they both won tonight.)

DURHAM - After going winless in 2009, Northern Durham was just looking to get the monkey of its back in '10. The Knights did that in the second week of the season by defeating Rocky Mount.

After losing three straight games, Northern has reversed its fortunes with a three-game winning streak and a first-place tie atop the PAC-6 with Durham Hillside after defeating Durham Riverside 41-28 and spoiling the Pirates homecoming.