GAME NOTES: The East Carolina Pirates and the Green Bay Phoenix will kick off the 2014 Gulf Coast Showcase as the two sides clash head to head in a non- conference matchup at Germain Arena on Monday.

East Carolina enters the game with two wins under its belt against inferior competition, while a loss to UNC Asheville by four points haunts the team in the loss column. The Pirates took down Virginia-Lynchburg, 92-51, in the most recent contest.

Green Bay opened the season with a not-so-surprising victory over Illinois- Springfield, then followed that up with a contest against the third-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Phoenix dropped the game, 84-60, to even their record at 1-1.

Green Bay leads the brief all-time series with East Carolina, 2-1. The Phoenix took the first two matchups back in 1993 and 1998, but the Pirates won the most recent (although still not very recent) clash, 84-66, back in the 1999 campaign.

Not surprisingly, East Carolina dominated its matchup against Virginia- Lynchburg on Thursday, winning the contest by a 92-51 margin. The Pirates held Lynchburg to just 28.4 percent shooting from the field in the contest, while ECU connected on 52.9 percent of its tries from the floor. Terry Whisnant scored a team-best 16 points for the Pirates, while B. J. Tyson came off the bench to net 14 points with eight rebounds. Caleb White and Michel Nzege each contributed 12 points to the win, and Lance Tejada rounded out the team's double-digit scorers with 10 points. Antonio Robinson pulled down 11 rebounds for ECU.

Six East Carolina players are averaging a scoring total in double figures through three games, although Marshall Guilmette (12.0 ppg) missed the team's last contest with a strained hip, and it looks like he'll be sidelined yet again. White is the team's scoring leader at 16.7 ppg, while Tyson is nipping at his heels with 16.0 ppg. Whisnant adds 13.7 ppg, and Nzege is averaging 11.3 ppg with a team-best 9.7 rpg mark. East Carolina as a unit is scoring 90.0 ppg, but has yet to play a serious contender in the non-conference schedule.

Wisconsin is one of the best teams in the entire Division I realm of college basketball (evidenced by their ranking in the country), so it wasn't surprising to see the Phoenix drop the contest on the road to the Badgers. It was a slow day offensively for Green Bay, which connected on just 35.4 percent of its shot attempts in the loss. Keifer Sykes was one of the lone bright spots, as the senior guard poured in 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Guard Jordan Fouse pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix only turned the ball over six times against Wisconsin.

Green Bay is tied for second in the Horizon League in scoring offense, averaging 74.0 ppg through two contests played. And Sykes, who is a favorite to win the conference's player of the year award come the end of the season, in second in the league in scoring at 21.0 ppg - just behind Illinois- Chicago's Jake Wiegand. Senior Greg Mays is also contributing double-digit points to the Phoenix offense, netting 11.0 ppg through two contests. Fouse's 8.0 rpg mark leads the team and is tied for third in the Horizon League.

This matchup should be a very good one, as two strong offenses collide on Florida's western coast. The Pirates haven't played any opponent of substance yet, which could play into Green Bay's favor. The Phoenix offense needs to come alive outside of Sykes, which should be the case very soon.