Marshall 78, East Carolina 68

Published Feb. 11, 2012 10:30 p.m. ET

foxsports

Damier Pitts scored 27 points and Marshall snapped a two-game losing streak, beating East Carolina 78-68 on Saturday night.

Pitts was 9 of 17 from the field and made 6 of 7 free throw attempts for the Thundering Herd, who shot 54 percent (27 of 50) from the field.

East Carolina (12-12, 3-8 Conference USA) led 52-51 after Robert Sampson knocked down a 3-pointer with 10:17 left to play. But Marshall used an 11-0 run to jump ahead 62-52. Pitts capped the run with a 3-pointer, and his jumper at the 5:21 mark extended Marshall's lead to 69-56.

The Pirates outscored Marshall (15-10, 6-5) 24-18 in the paint but committed 12 turnovers, compared to just five for the Thundering Herd. Marshall scored 16 points off those errors and outscored the Pirates 42-33 in the second half.

Miguel Paul and Sampson led East Carolina with 19 apiece.