Jamar Abrams scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half and East Carolina rallied from a 14-point deficit in the final 13 minutes to defeat Central Florida 68-66 on Tuesday night.
The victory is only the second for the Pirates (10-19, 4-11 Conference USA) in 13 meetings with the Knights (13-16, 5-10).
Isaac Sosa?s 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining brought UCF to within 68-66. East Carolina threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds play, allowing the Knights the opportunity to tie.
But Taylor Young?s desperation 10-footer at the buzzer fell off the rim.
East Carolina trailed 51-38 with 12:49 remaining, but went on a 17-0 run as the Pirates held UCF without a field goal for 8:27. East Carolina, which shot 63 percent from the floor in the second half, led by as many as seven points in the final five minutes.
