Forward Octavius Ellis and forward Gary Clark each had double-doubles Cincinnati pushed past East Carolina 75-60 on Saturday in an American Athletic Conference game at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati.

Ellis paced a balanced Bearcats attack with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Clark added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Cincinnati, which is considered to be on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

The Bearcats (19-7, 9-4 AAC) have won six of seven and are one game out of first place in the conference. Three of their final five opponents are ranked inside the top 50 of the RPI.

East Carolina (10-15, 2-10) was coming off a triple-overtime loss to Tulane and has now lost four in a row. The Pirates have only two wins away from home in the last two seasons.

Guard Price Williams led East Carolina with 15 points and guard Caleb White came off the bench to add 13 points.

Cincinnati led 34-26 at halftime and had to fend off multiple East Carolina runs in the second half before pulling away. The Bearcats had 21 assists, leading to five players in double figures.

Guard Kevin Johnson scored 13 points off the bench and point guard Troy Caupain added 12 points, six assists and four rebounds for Cincinnati.