Cincinnati overcomes East Carolina rally, wins 27-25

CINCINNATI (AP) — Ben Bryant threw two touchdown passes, Ryan Coe kicked the go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter and Cincinnati defeated East Carolina 27-25 on Friday night.

Cincinnati led 24-12 at halftime but a 13-point third quarter gave East Carolina a 25-24 lead heading to the fourth. The Bearcats drove to the ECU 3-yard line on their first possession of the fourth quarter and Coe's 21-yard field goal gave them a 27-25 lead. That score held up as East Carolina failed to mount a scoring threat over the final nine minutes.

Bryant completed only 14 of his 30 attempts but they went for 244 yards — an average of nearly 17.5 yards per completion. Tyler Scott and Tre Tucker both averaged more than 20 yards per reception, with Scott catching 7 passes for 140 yards and Tucker 3 for 64. They scored one touchdown apiece.

Holton Ahlers was 26-of-46 passing for 280 yards with two touchdowns for ECU. Keaton Mitchell rushed for 112 yards and C.J. Johnson had 123 receiving yards. Both scored a touchdown.

Cincinnati (8-2, 5-1 American Athletic Conference) trails first-place Tulane by one game in the loss column. East Carolina fell to 6-4, 3-3.

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