Hartford — There was more relief than elation following Saturday's slump-busting victory.

UConn's performance had the artistic value of a finger painting and was as messy as well.

Good thing the opponent was East Carolina and not a stronger American Athletic Conference team. Otherwise, the outcome likely would have been different than a 70-65 victory before 6,717 XL Center fans.

The Huskies (8-7, 1-2) halted a four-game losing streak.

"We were lucky to get a win today," coach Kevin Ollie said. "I liked how our guys stayed with it. We didn't give up the lead in the second half. We've just got to cut down on the turnovers, just foolish mistakes. We have to play better to win some games and try to get a streak. I'm not going to apologize for a victory any day."

The sloppy game featured a combined 37 turnovers, but the Huskies forced a season-high 21, helping them overcome their mistakes.

Once again, junior Jalen Adams (18 points, six rebounds, four assists), sophomore Christian Vital (16 points, career-high tying five steals) and redshirt junior Terry Larrier (16 points) carried the offensive attack, combining for 50 points.

"It definitely feels good to get the win," said Adams, who had a season-worst seven turnovers. "We'd much rather have done it in a different fashion. But we'll take the win. We've just got to build on it."

Nothing comes easy for these Huskies, who led for all but 31 seconds but barely held on.

Missed free throws — the Huskies went 1-for-4 from the line in the final 48 seconds — nearly cost them. Larrier went to the line twice and missed the front end of a 1-and-1. East Carolina had the ball down just three, 68-65.

Coming out of a timeout with 8.8 seconds left, ECU's B.J. Tyson (21 points) fired up a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the wing, but it bounced off the rim. UConn freshman Tyler Polley snared the rebound and got fouled. He drained two free throws for his only points of the game with 3.1 seconds remaining to seal the win.

"It's definitely a relief," Larrier said. "We've just got to get better from it. We've got to ride the momentum of this win and be ready for the next game."

UConn has a lot to clean up before hosting Central Florida Wednesday in Storrs.

The Huskies had an early chance to turn the game into a blowout, taking a 16-4 lead. But they let up and the Pirates (7-8, 1-3), who went the first 6:35 without a field goal, crept back to within one (32-31) by halftime.

There were some brutal stretches of basketball in the second half. During one roughly four-minute period, the teams combined for eight turnovers and 10 missed shots.

But the Huskies stabilized and built a 55-47 lead on Larrier's lane jumper with 6:16 left. It was a struggle to hold on from there.

Adams converted a tough runner to give UConn a seven-point cushion with 59 seconds remaining. Then Vital and Larrier converted a combined 1-for-4 from the line and ECU's Shawn Williams hit three foul shots to cut the deficit to three to give the Pirates a chance but they couldn't complete the comeback.

"We are able to gut out the win," Adams said. "Last game we were in the same situation."

Adams was referring to Wednesday's double overtime loss at Tulsa during which UConn allowed a game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation.

Good fortune was on UConn's side on Saturday.

News and notes

• There was brief altercation during the postgame handshake. "I didn't know what that was about...," Ollie said. "I think (ECU's Isaac) Fleming was getting into it with Alterique (Gilbert). I'm glad nothing came about that. We split the teams up. You don't want this game to be mired with that and people being suspended." ... Ollie posted his 121st career win, moving past Dee Rowe into fourth place on the program's win list. ... After recording a season-high 18 assists vs. Tulsa, UConn had just seven. ... Huskies improved to 8-1 at home. ... Freshman Isaiah Whaley continued his solid play, finishing with a team-best seven rebounds and seven points. ... UConn improved to 7-1 when out-rebounding a foe. It had a 38-34 edge. ... Graduate guard Antwoine Anderson had missed 17 straight shots over four games before sinking a runner at the 16:07 mark of the second half. ... Adams is 10 points from the 1,000th career point mark.

g.keefe@theday.com