GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Shane Carden threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns to lead East Carolina to a 48-28 victory over Houston on Saturday afternoon.
Vintavious Cooper rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown for the Pirates (6-4, 5-1 Conference USA), who posted their highest point total this season.
The victory makes East Carolina bowl-eligible for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
Carden's 31 completions and 43 passes are both career highs. He has thrown 16 TD passes against seven interceptions this season. Danny Webster caught six of Carden's passes, three of them for TDs.
The Pirates outgained the Cougars (4-5, 3-2) 245 to 28 yards rushing, which contributed to their nearly 30-minute advantage in time of possession. Houston ran the ball only 11 times.
Houston's David Piland threw 51 passes, completing only 22, including four for touchdowns. He and Carden threw one interception each.
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| Scoring Summary |
| ECU | Danny Webster 6 yd pass from Shane Carden (Warren Harvey kick) |
| ECU | Danny Webster 12 yd pass from Shane Carden (Warren Harvey kick) |
| ECU | Danny Webster 9 yd pass from Shane Carden (Warren Harvey kick) |
| ECU | Reese Wiggins 8 yd pass from Shane Carden (Warren Harvey kick) |
| HOU | Larry McDuffey 10 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Isaiah Sweeney 34 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| ECU | Warren Harvey 28 yd FG |
| ECU | Warren Harvey 31 yd FG |
| HOU | Mark Roberts 5 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| ECU | Vintavious Cooper 22 yd run (Warren Harvey kick) |
| ECU | Ty Holmes 28 yd interception return (Warren Harvey kick) |
| HOU | Kenneth Farrow 20 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| Team Stats | ||
| HOU | ECU | |
| First Downs | 16 | 31 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 3-12 | 12-20 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0-2 | 1-1 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 62-369 | 98-550 |
| Rushes-Yds | 11-28 | 54-245 |
| Passing Yds | 341 | 305 |
| Kick Return Yds | 91 | 65 |
| Punt Return Yds | 0 | 49 |
| Passes | 22-51-1 | 31-44-1 |
| Punts | 7-296 | 3-120 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yds | 1-15 | 7-85 |
| Time of Poss. | 15:52 | 44:8 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| HOU: Charles Sims 5-33, Kenneth Farrow 1-1, David Piland 4--3, Team 1--3 |
| ECU: Vintavious Cooper 33-140, Reggie Bullock 13-67, Shane Carden 6-30, Jabril Solomon 1-10, Team 1--2 |
| PASSING |
| HOU: David Piland 22-51-341-1 |
| ECU: Shane Carden 31-43-305-1, Justin Hardy 0-1-0-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| HOU: Mark Roberts 5-62, Isaiah Sweeney 3-93, Shane Ros 2-62, Deontay Greenberry 2-30, Daniel Spencer 2-21, Charles Sims 2-18, Larry McDuffey 2-14, Ronnie Williams 2-8, Kenneth Farrow 1-20, Xavier Maxwell 1-13 |
| ECU: Danny Webster 6-46, Justin Hardy 5-40, Andrew Bodenheimer 4-34, Vintavious Cooper 4-32, Reese Wiggins 4-30, Derrick Harris 3-65, Justin Jones 2-30, Jabril Solomon 2-30, Reggie Bullock 1--2 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Houston | 3rd Conference USA West | 4-4 | 5-7 |
| East Carolina | 1st Conference USA East | 7-1 | 8-5 |
