Sophomore guard Rob Gray Jr. equaled his career high with 31 points before leaving because of an ankle injury and sophomore guard Wes VanBeck had the hot hand in the second overtime as Houston posted a 97-93 victory over East Carolina on Saturday in American Athletic Conference play at Greenville, N.C.

Gary was 6-of-11 from 3-point range before leaving in the first overtime.

VanBeck, who scored 11 points, knocked down two 3-pointers in the second overtime, and junior guard Damyean Dotson added 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Cougars (15-6, 5-4 in the AAC).

Sophomore guard B.J. Tyson had 20 points and senior guard Prince Williams had 19 for the Pirates (10-12, 2-7). Junior guard Caleb White collected 17 points and eight assists, freshman guard Kentrell Barkley added 14 points and senior forward Michael Zangari had 13 points and eight rebounds.

East Carolina recovered from an eight-point second-half deficit and caught the Cougars at 75-75 on a 3-pointer by White with 27.2 seconds to play and forced overtime.

The Pirates also scored late in the first overtime, getting two free throws from Zangari with 29 seconds to play to force a second extra session.

VanBeck's first 3-pointer in the second overtime gave Houston an 87-86 lead. His second made it 92-88 with 2:29 left and East Carolina's attempt to force a third overtime came up empty when Williams missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds left.

A 3-pointer by Gray gave Houston a 61-55 lead with 7:14 remaining and his dunk made it an eight-point margin with 5:21 to play. The Pirates battled back and cut their deficit to 74-70 on a 3-pointer by Williams with 1:40 remaining and eventually tied the score.

Houston led 30-19 late in the first half after a three-point play by Dotson before East Carolina went on a 16-2 burst. Tyson scored the next nine points to move the Pirates to within two and his layup tied the score at 32-32 with 54 seconds to play.

East Carolina held a 35-32 advantage at the break before the Cougars scored the first seven points of the second half.

White's basket gave the Pirates a 49-46 lead with 12:44 to play before Houston ran off an 8-2 burst with senior forward Devonta Pollard's basket giving the Cougars a three-point lead with 10:36 remaining.