Storrs - The day before the latest must win game, coach Kevin Ollie talked about his Huskies needing to play with a sense of urgency.

UConn responded on Wednesday night.

A 65-52 victory over East Carolina won't save UConn's season, but it does steer the team in a positive direction.

The Huskies (12-9, 5-4) still have a long climb ahead of them to reach their desired destination.

"We know all odds are against us," sophomore Terrence Samuel said. "We know a lot of people don't believe in us. We know that we're all we've got, so we put a lot of emphasis on that before the game. We just say we've got to go out there and play."

A second-half blitz fueled by a stingy defense helped the Huskies overcome a seven-point halftime deficit. They also shared the basketball, assisting on 16 of 24 baskets overall, and committed a season-low seven turnovers.

This wasn't just the Ryan Boatright Show, as it has been in the last few games. Yes, Boatright did score a game-high 23 points and continued his torrid perimeter shooting, making a career-high seven 3-pointers out of 10 attempts.

His supporting cast made a much-needed contribution. Rodney Purvis scored 10 points while Daniel Hamilton and Samuel, who replaced Omar Calhoun in the starting backcourt and allowed Boatright to play off the ball, each added nine.

"It was just a great overall team win..., "Ollie said. "We shared the game. Everybody played together and everybody played well."

Ollie's decision to switch to a smaller lineup paid dividends, giving UConn more scorers on the floor in the second half. Hamilton spent some quality time at the power forward spot. An athletic 6-foot-7, he created mismatch problems and helped crack open the zone. He had his second straight double figure rebounding game, finishing with a game-high 11, and added five assists.

The Huskies continue to do things the hard way. The Pirates (9-13, 2-7), the only American Athletic Conference team without a road win, shot their way to a 10-point lead (34-24) late in the first half, sinking eight 3-pointers.

Boatright stopped the bleeding by burying a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer. An energized UConn team came out of the locker room in the second half and quickly gained control.

"I knew at halftime we had to come out and jump on them from the beginning, because this is a great opportunity to get a win in front of our home crowd in Gampel," Boatright said.

In full attack mode, the Huskies scored the first 14 points to extend their run to 17-0 and take a 41-34 lead. The Pirates missed their first eight shots and went about six minutes without a point.

The momentum didn't last.

UConn lost focus and lost its lead. Forward Caleb White's basket put East Carolina back on top, 44-43.

It would be the Pirates' last field goal for just over seven minutes.

Ollie challenged the Huskies to hold East Carolina to three 3-pointers in the second half and they did just that.

The Huskies heated up again.

Calhoun's 3-pointer sparked another 17-0 spurt. Boatright's 3-pointer capped the run and increased the lead to 60-44 with 4:38 remaining. Then they cruised to the finish line. They finished with a season-high tying 11 3-pointers.

UConn outscored East Carolina, 38-18, in the second half.

"We got down and guarded," Ollie said.

"We played some great defense. If you can go on a 14-0 run and a 17-0 run, that's pretty damn special. Our guys dug in in the second half. They played with passion. They took a challenge from our coaching staff. It was just great. The crowd was awesome, too."

To continue their climb, the Huskies have to play with the same super-charged energy on the road as they did in the second half.

They take a four-game road losing streak to Tulane on Saturday.

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter:@GavinKeefe