UCF wards off ECU down the stretch to advance in AAC tourney (Mar 09, 2018)

Published

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) B.J. Taylor scored 17 points and A.J. Davis scored 14 and No. 6-seed Central Florida beat 11th seed East Carolina 66-52 in an American Athletic Conference Tournament first round game Thursday night.

Central Florida (19-12) advances to play No. 3 seed Houston, which had a bye, in a quarterfinal matchup on Friday.

Taylor and Davis scored the Knights' first 13 points and Central Florida used an 11-0 run for a 22-9 lead and stayed on top the rest of the way. UCF led 36-25 at halftime and extended the lead to 14 after intermission before a 13-0 run brought East Carolina within 46-45 on B.J. Tyson's 3-pointer.

The Pirates went scoreless for four minutes before a lone free throw, and UCF sealed it with an 18-1 run and were never threatened. East Carolina's two dunks in the final 73 seconds were its only field goals in the last 9 1/2 minutes.

Shawn Williams scored 17 for the Pirates (10-20) and Tyson scored 14.