Tulsa 66, East Carolina 64: James Woodard scored 17 points as the Golden Hurricane beat the host Pirates to remain unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference.

Shaquille Harrison added 13 points and five assists, and Rashad Smith had nine points for Tulsa (14-5, 7-0 AAC), which notched its ninth straight win overall. The Golden Hurricane, who also received eight points apiece from Rashad Ray and Marquel Curtis and seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds from D’Andre Wright, hit five of their six 3-pointers in the second half and finished with a 20-6 free-throw advantage.

Terry Whisnant scored 22, including a 6-of-9 performance from 3-point range, for East Carolina (8-11, 1-5), which fell to 7-3 at home. Michel Ofik-Nzege added 13 points and 11 rebounds while Antonio Robinson chipped in 10 points and six assists for the Pirates, who made a season-most 12 3-pointers in 28 attempts.

East Carolina took a 35-29 lead into the second half, but Woodard drained three 3-pointers and Ray hit two as Tulsa surged back in front 49-42 after outscoring the Pirates 20-7 over the first seven minutes of the second stanza. Nzege tied the game with a dunk with two minutes remaining before the visitors hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch – sandwiched around a turnover, missed 3-pointer and a missed front end of a one-and-one free-throw chance for East Carolina – to seal the road win.

Tulsa held leads of 13-8 and 20-16 in a tight game early, but Whisnant got hot in a hurry, scoring 11 points in a 13-2 East Carolina run to give the hosts a 29-22 lead with 3:48 to play. The Golden Hurricane pulled to within 29-27 before the Pirates closed out the half with a mini 6-2 run to take the six-point lead into the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tulsa is off to its best conference start since opening 8-0 in 1984-85 en route to the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. … Over East Carolina’s last two games, Whisnant has scored 46 points, including 12-of-20 3-pointers. … Tulsa holds a 12-2 lead in the series between the former Conference-USA rivals who have met every season since 2006.