Houston 72, East Carolina 54: Devonta Pollard recorded 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists as the Cougars downed the visiting Pirates to end the regular season with three straight wins.

Jherrod Stiggers added a team-high 17 points for Houston (12-18, 4-14 American Athletic), which will play Tulane in the first round of the conference tournament. LeRon Barnes scored 14 points and Wes VanBeck led the reserves with 10 for the Cougars, who shot 50 percent from the field.

Terry Whisnant produced 13 points and three steals to finish as the lone player in double figures for East Carolina (13-18, 6-12), which has dropped 11 of its 12 road games this season. Marshall Guilmette and Caleb White tallied nine points apiece for the Pirates, who will face UCF in the conference tournament.

VanBeck and Barnes buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give Houston its biggest lead of the game at the time at 43-27 before White drilled a triple a short time later to close the gap to 11. Pollard knocked down a jumper and VanBeck hit a 3-pointer as the Cougars pulled away 60-40 and they coasted the rest of the way to improve to 5-0 all-time against the Pirates at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Cavon Baker connected from beyond the arc to spark a 7-0 spurt to put Houston in front 23-14 before Antonio Robinson finished at the rim and Whisnant drained a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to one. Danrad Knowles and Barnes each nailed a 3-pointer during an 8-0 burst as the Cougars sped ahead 33-21 and they settled for a 35-24 lead at intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Houston went 12-of-28 from 3-point range and won the battle of the boards 39-24 . … Stiggers and Barnes combined to go 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. … The Pirates have lost 20 of their last 23 road games dating back to last season.