White finished 9-for-13 from the field while Terry Whisnant added 11 points for East Carolina (10-13, 3-7 AAC), which had lost four of its last five games. The Pirates, who also received 10 points apiece from reserves Michael Zangari and B.J. Tyson, overcame a slow start by connecting on 21 of their final 41 shot attempts.

Staphon Blair recorded 12 points to pace UCF (9-13, 2-9), which suffered its sixth straight setback. Brandon Goodwin added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Knights, who committed 17 turnovers, hit only 2-of-16 shots from 3-point range and saw their top two scorers - freshmen B.J. Taylor and Adonys Henriquez - combine for 15 points on 3-of-17 shooting .

East Carolina, which carried a 31-22 advantage into the second half, led 46-38 with 10:24 to play, but Whisnant heated up with two 3-pointers during an 8-0 run over the ensuing two minutes which put the Pirates ahead 54-38. UCF never recovered and would only get as close as 14 points over the final eight minutes as the hosts cruised to the finish.

The game, though, was a give-and-take tussle for much of the first half as the opening 12 1/2 minutes featured 12 lead changes and a pair of ties. However, back-to-back 3-pointers by Whisnant and White jump-started a half-ending 17-4 run for East Carolina, which hit seven of its final 11 field-goal attempts and took the nine-point lead into intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: UCF had won three of the previous four meetings and was 6-3 all-time as a visitor in the series. … Zangari, who scored in double digits for the first time since Nov. 25, was helped off the court favoring his left knee after going down with 5:27 left in the game and didn’t return. … The teams will complete their series Feb. 28 in Orlando.