Hartford, CT (SportsNetwork.com) - B.J. Taylor paced the Pirates with 19 points as the No. 8 seed East Carolina outlasted the ninth-seeded UCF Knights for an 81-80 overtime victory in the opening game of the American Athletic Conference Tournament at the XL Center.

Marshall Guilmette provided 18 points for ECU (14-18), which will play the top-seeded SMU Mustangs in the second round. Caleb White and Michael Nzege added 13 points apiece, with the latter also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Paris Roberts-Campbell netted 11 points and Lance Tejada handed out eight assists for the Pirates.

B.J. Taylor poured in a game-high 22 points for the Knights (12-18), who ended their campaign on a five-game losing streak. Adonys Henriquez scored 17 points and Justin McBride recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Kasey Wilson chimed in with 11 points, while Brandon Goodwin tallied 10 points, nine boards and seven assists.

ECU got off to a great start and led, 32-15, with 5:25 remaining in the opening stanza. UCF responded with a 17-4 run to narrow the gap before going into the intermission trailing, 38-29. The Pirates assisted 10 of their 17 makes from the floor before the break.

The Knights battled back in the second period behind a 61.3 percent performance from the field, including a 6-of-12 clip from 3-point range. ECU held a 75-48 advantage on the scoreboard with 3:39 remaining, but the Knights refused to go away and narrowed the gap to two points before Wilson made a game-tying layup just before the buzzer.

Both sides struggled to score points in the overtime period. McBride opened up the scoring with a layup, but ECU answered with a 5-0 run. The Pirates were held scoreless for the final 3:31 of the contest, but managed to hang on and advance as the Knights endured a 3:05 scoring drought to conclude the game.