GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jontae Sherrod scored 23 points and East Carolina sent Central Florida to its seventh straight loss in a 68-61 victory on Saturday.
Darrius Morrow finished with 15 points and Jamar Abrams added 12 for the Pirates (13-10, 5-4 Conference USA), who won despite shooting 37.9 percent (22 for 58) from the floor.
The Knights (14-7, 1-7) didn't shoot much better, hitting 38.5 percent (20 for 52) of their shots. UCF also outrebounded East Carolina 45-34, but the Knights had 18 turnovers as the Pirates scored 18 points off their mistakes.
UCF held a five-point lead at halftime. But East Carolina pulled ahead in the second half then went on a 13-1 run, sparked by Sherrod's 10 points that included two 3-pointers.
Marcus Jordan, who led UCF with 24 points, scored on a layup to cut the lead to 65-61 with 57 seconds left. But the Pirates held them scoreless the rest of the way.
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