Caleb White added 14 points and Terry Whisnant had 13 for East Carolina (8-9, 1-3), which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Pirates, who also received seven rebounds from Tyson and eight points and four assists from Antonio Robinson, survived 15 turnovers and 21 fouls.

Danrad Knowles had 16 points, and L.J. Rose added 15 and five assists for Houston (7-9, 0-5), which has lost five straight and eight of its last 10 games. Cavon Baker chipped in 11 points off the bench, and LeRon Barnes had nine points and eight rebounds for the Cougars, who saw leading scorer Jherrod Stiggers finish with a season-low five points on 2-of-15 shooting.

The Pirates led 30-21 at halftime and expanded their advantage to 42-29 with 13:40 to play, but Houston climbed back in with a 27-15 run to close the gap to 57-56 with 2:43 remaining. It was still a one-point lead for East Carolina with 37 seconds left, but the hosts put the game away by going 4-of-6 at the free-throw line down the stretch while the Cougars missed their final three shots.

East Carolina started slow, hitting three of its first 10 shots but used 8-0 and 12-2 runs to take the nine-point lead into the break. Houston shot only 28.6 percent from the field and had 10 turnovers to only four assists in the opening 20 minutes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Led by Tyson, the East Carolina bench outscored the Houston reserves 29-11. … The Cougars, who entered the game ranked 13th nationally with 8.9 3-pointers per game, have hit only 10-of-38 long-range attempts over the last two contests, including 6-of-21 Wednesday. … Michel Nzege, the Pirates’ leading rebounder, was helped to the bench after turning an ankle late in the first half but started the second half and finished with six boards and two points.