Freddie Riley scored 14 points in 10 minutes as Massachusetts built a 22-point first-half lead, then the Minutemen held on to defeat East Carolina 63-58 Tuesday night.
UMass (7-3) still led by 10 with 6:02 to play when the Pirates (4-4) started a big run to close to 59-58 with 40 seconds left.
The Minutemen hit only 4 of 8 free throws in the last 35 seconds, with four players going 1 of 2, but it was enough to seal the win as East Carolina missed two 3-pointers and had a turnover.
