Jalen Adams scored 18 points and UConn held off East Carolina 70-65 on Saturday for its first conference win this season.
Terry Larrier and Christian Vital each added 16 points for the Huskies (8-7, 1-2), who snapped a four-game losing streak.
B.J. Tyson led all scorers with 21 for ECU (7-8, 1-3), but missed a big 3-pointer with three seconds left that would have tied the game.
UConn led by as many as 12 points in the first half and by six with 48 seconds left after a free throw from Vital.
But Antwoine Anderson fouled Sean Williams on a 3-point attempt and he hit three foul shots with 25 seconds left cut the UConn lead to 68-65.
The Pirates got the ball back after a missed free throw by Larrier at the other end.
But Tyson missed from the left baseline and Tyler Polley hit two free throws on the other end to seal the win.
Sports
It was a sloppy game with the teams combining for 37 turnovers and just 19 assists.
BIG PICTURE
ECU: The Pirates are now 0-2 against teams from Connecticut, having lost by 11 points in November to Central Connecticut.
UConn: The Huskies had just seven assists after recording 18 in their last game. After using 12 different starting lineups this season, Kevin Ollie went with the same five for the second consecutive game: Adams, Vital, Larrier, Isaiah Whaley and Josh Carlton.
UP NEXT
East Carolina: The Pirates head back home for three games, beginning with conference newcomer Wichita State on Thursday.
UConn: The Huskies head back to campus for a game at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday against UCF.