Memphis 70, East Carolina 58: Austin Nichols scored 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting and the Tigers held off the visiting Pirates in the American Athletic Conference game.

Trahson Burrell and Nick King added 11 points apiece off the bench for Memphis (13-7, 6-3), which shot 53.8 percent from the floor. Starters Avery Woodson, Markel Crawford and Kedren Johnson added seven points apiece for the Tigers .

Terry Whisnant shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range and scored 17 points to lead East Carolina (8-12, 1-6). Caleb White added 10 points and Paris Roberts-Campbell contributed eight points off the bench for the Pirates.

Memphis made its move early, using a 12-0 run to take a 24-9 lead with 8:50 left in the first half. Michael Zangari ended the run with a 3-pointer and East Carolina got back within 10 on a three-point play Kanu Aja with 3:57 left before the break, but the Tigers stretched the advantage back to 15 at the half.

Both teams traded points during the early part of the second half before the Pirates pulled within five with an 8-0 burst featuring 3-pointers on either end by Whisnant and Roberts-Campbell. Nichols and Pookie Powell scored back-to-back layups to end that threat and King hit a jumper with 3:24 remaining after the Pirates had got within four, putting them in a hole for good.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Memphis entered Tuesday third in the nation in blocks at 7.2 per game and finished with five. … Whisnant is 17-for-27 from 3-point range in the last three games. … King was not part of the rotation and sat out Saturday’s victory against Tulane, but shot 4-for-8 while collecting seven rebounds against East Carolina.