East Hartford — Riddled in recent games, UConn's defense rebounded with a punishing performance on Friday night.

The Huskies didn't allow an offensive touchdown until early in the fourth quarter in American Athletic Conference action before 23,116 fans at Rentschler Field.

They harassed East Carolina into numerous mistakes, picking off fourth passes and limiting big plays in a 31-13 win. Sophomore tailback Arkeel Newsome provided the offensive spark, rushing for a career-high 179 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

The Pirates (4-5, 2-3) came into the game averaging 29.9 points and 426 yards per game. It was their season-low for points and they finished with 340 yards.

"We're getting better," coach Bob Diaco said. "We had one of the best weeks of practice that we've had, and it paid off. We beat a heck of a football team. ... We played fundamentally sound football and did a lot of things that caused winning."

With the impressive victory, UConn (4-5, 2-3) kept its fading bowl hopes alive and ended a funk that saw it drop five of six games.

Credit a swarming, hard-hitting defense.

After allowing average of 32.5 points and 536.5 yards in losses to South Florida and Cincinnati, UConn returned to early-season form when its defense ranked among the best in the conference.

"They ran and hit and tackled," Diaco said.

Some big defensive stands helped break the game open, as UConn built a 24-6 lead in the second half.

Clinging to a 10-6 lead in the third quarter, linebacker Graham Stewart sacked ECU quarterback James Summers on fourth down, setting up the Huskies at their own 34-yard line.

Eight plays later, quarterback Bryant Shirreffs connected with tight end Alec Bloom for a 23-yard touchdown pass for a 17-6 lead.

The Huskies avoided a disastrous mistake when punt returner Nick Vitale fumbled but teammate Josh Marriner recovered the ball at the UConn 10.

Lightning struck next, as Newsome ripped off a career-best 90-yard scoring run, shedding the final defender inside the 10-yard line and extending the lead to 24-6 with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

UConn's defense closed out the game. Sophomore cornerback Jamar Summers had his team-high fourth and fifth interceptions while linebacker Marquise Vann and free safety Obi Melifonwu also picked off passes.

It was the Newsome Show on offense.

Newsome's rushing total was the most by Husky since September 2010 when Jordan Todman went for 167 yards in a loss to Temple. He's also the first UConn player to break the 100-yard mark on the ground this season. Shirreffs added a three-yard touchdown run.

"Every day he gets better,"  Diaco said of Newsome.

The Huskies trailed only once on ECU's DaShawn Benton's 32-yard interception return in the first quarter.

Despite battling poor field position, the Huskies mustered two first-half scoring drives, including a season-high 94 yard, 12-play march to the end zone. The key play came on a 29-yard completion freshman Hergy Mayala.

Mayala managed to hang on despite being drilled under the chin by Travon Simmons, who earned a personal foul penalty and ejection. The ball was placed on the ECU 11-yard line. The drive appeared to stall but the Pirates were flagged for pass interference on third down.

Two plays later, Newsome fought his way up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown run, handing the Huskies a 10-6 lead. Earlier, Bobby Puyol's 45-yard field goal put UConn on the board.

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe