UAB Blazers vs East Carolina Pirates Match Player Stats On Nov 16, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 16, 2013

East Carolina 63, Alabama-Birmingham 14: Shane Carden threw for five touchdowns and Vintavious Cooper rushed for three scores on senior day as the Pirates rode a dominant first half to a comfortable home win over their Conference USA rivals.

Carden connected for three scoring strikes to Reese Wiggins (five catches, 142 yards) as part of his 21-of-31 effort for 347 yards for the East Carolina (8-2, 6-1), which won its fourth straight. Breon Allen contributed 13 carries for 95 yards and Cooper had 15 rushing attempts for 126 yards as part of a 625-yard performance by the Pirates, who posted at least 55 points for the third time in four games.

Darrin Reaves and Jonathan Perry each rushed for a touchdown for Alabama-Birmingham (2-8, 1-5), which has been outscored 119-28 over its last two games. Perry finished 16-of-34 for 210 yards, while Jamari Staples was his favorite target, totaling 78 yards on five receptions.

The Pirates racked up 401 yards of offense in the first half, including 231 passing yards by Carden and 113 rushing yards from Cooper, en route to a 35-7 halftime advantage. Carden and Wiggins hooked up for touchdowns of 5 and 55 yards in the final five minutes of the first quarter and Cooper added a pair of second-quarter TD runs before Carden found Justin Hardy for an 11-yard score in the final seconds of the first half to make it a four-score game.

Cooper's third touchdown of the game - a 4-yard burst early in the second half - increased the lead to 42-7 before Kyle Tudor added to the East Carolina rout with a 50-yard interception return three minutes later. Carden put an exclamation point on the Pirates' performance with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including a 17-yarder to Wiggins to complete the scoring.