ORLANDO — A 3-point attempt by B.J. Tyson rimmed out as time expired and Central Florida held on for a 48-45 American Athletic Conference win over East Carolina on Tuesday night.
The Pirates (9-7, 1-2 AAC) made a run after trailing 39-25 with four minutes to go.
Kentrell Barkley led ECU with 16 points and nine rebounds. Tyson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Deng Riak and Andre Washington each had seven rebounds although the Pirates trailed 42-34 on the boards.
Free throws were a huge factor as ECU made just six of 16 while UCF sank 21 of 28.
The 7-foot-1 Washington blocked five shots, including several by 7-6 Tacko Fall of the Knights (12-3, 3-0).
B.J. Taylor led the hosts with 19 points. A.J. Davis had 15 rebounds in UCF’s fifth straight win.
The Pirates made just 16 of 60 field goal attempts for 26.7 percent but the Knights were even worse, hitting just 12 of 46 for 26.1 percent.
ECU was slightly better from beyond the arc, dropping seven of 22 for 31.8 percent.
Barkley and Tyson each made a pair of 3-pointers in the closing spree for the Pirates.
ECU had 10 steals and committed 13 turnovers, compared to 20 miscues for UCF, which led 23-15 at the half.
The Pirates are at Temple on Saturday for a noon start. The Owls (9-6, 0-2) visit Southern Methodist (12-3, 2-0) tonight.
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